In the Land of the Arches

ONE OF THE Most interesting of the Southwest Monuments, the Arches National Monument, is situated near the quaint Mormon town of Moab, in Utah. A product of the unpredictable force of erosion, acting on the Entrada layer of sandstone, it offers varied and unusual sights to the visitor. The most insistent feeling that it gives at first is that of immense space, broken only by "colonies" of rock formations. In the Windows Section, easily accessible from the highway, are many arches, windows, turrets and figures of surprising shapes and sizes. More arches are continually in the making and when the beautiful North and South Windows erode completely away, there will be new and perhaps even larger arches to draw the visitor of that future age.

Courthouse Towers with its striking canyons such as "Park Avenue" are totally different in nature. Here the boundary of the monument runs down to the edge of the mighty Colorado River where it flows smoothly down to where it plunges into the great Canyon and thence to Lake Mead. The Devil's Garden, a third section has not yet been completely explored but offers a surprisingly beautiful array of sights.

The Double Arch in the Monument is one of the most interesting sights. The larger arch is 168 feet wide and 157 feet high, while the smaller span is 90 by 85 feet. Of Entrada stone these lovely arches were made by the process of erosion. There are 31 arches of various sizes in this one section of the Monument.

It is a stiff climb up to the South Window. Arriving breathless, one is very apt to find it hard to keep his balance in the great opening due to the strength of the wind which blows through it almost always.

The mighty spans and arches comprising the wonderland known as the Arches National Monument dwarf the traveler. This area, in southern Utah, is in one of the least traveled parts of the U. S. Here is fantastic beauty.

Looking through North Window at Turret Arch in the window section of the Monument. Turret Arch, 110 feet by 35 feet in dimension, represents centuries of eroding.

Beautiful Pine Tree Arch in the Devil's Garden section of Arches National Monument is an interesting sight. So rugged is the lower part of the Devil's Garden that much of it today has not been completely explored.

The road to the Arches follows the Colorado river between Cisco and Moab in southern Utah. For thirty miles the road winds along the base of sandstone cliffs.

Tunnel Arch is another of the unusual formations in the Devil's Gardens section. Sixty-four of the 81 arches in the 33,680 acre Monument have been found in the Devil's Garden. Only the hiker or the horseman can reach them.

The Arches National Monument is noted not only for its arches and windows but for its rough, rugged, spectacular landscape. Some new scenic jewel is discovered each year.