This created even more fractures, each one a pathway for water to seep into the rock and further break it down. Once exposed, deeply buried sandstone layers rebounded and expanded, like a sponge expands after it's squeezed (though not quite so quickly). What goes up must come down, and the forces of erosion carved layer after layer of rock away. Next, the entire region began to rise, climbing from sea level to thousands of feet in elevation. The trail is primarily used for hiking, walking, running, and nature trips and is accessible year-round.” )Īlltrails writes of this hike, “Park Avenue Trail is a 1.8 mile heavily trafficked out and back trail located near Moab, Utah that features beautiful wild flowers and is good for all skill levels. As the sandstone warped, fractures tore through it, establishing the patterns for rock sculptures of the future. This is a magnificent hike that we highly recommend.įirst, geologic forces wrinkled and folded the buried sandstone, as if it were a giant rug and someone gathered two edges towards each other, making lumps across the middle called Anticlines. Then the landscape slowly began to change. If you stood in Devils Garden then, the striking red rock features we see today would have been buried thousands of feet below you, raw material as yet uncarved. At that time, the area was a dry seabed spreading from horizon to horizon. The story of Arches begins roughly 65 million years ago. The 65 million year old story of Arches National Park as provided on the National Park Service Website follows, indented and in italics throughout this page: The entrance climb is two miles at 4.7% ( PJAMM Climb Page ). This red-rock wonderland will amaze you with its formations, refresh you with its trails, and inspire you with its sunsets” ( More ). The park has over 2,000 natural stone arches, in addition to hundreds of soaring pinnacles, massive fins and giant balanced rocks. “Visit Arches to discover a landscape of contrasting colors, land forms and textures unlike any other in the world. This is a fairly long ride at 45 miles (4,354’ elevation gain) that is also long in sceneryĬontact us (upper right menu drop down) if you would like a GPS download of the route we used for this ride (or download it here ). This is one of our all time favorite bike rides (it does have a lot of climbing, but it is rolling and not continuous). You can stay in Moab and easily ride to the start of this route from town, or park at or just before the visitor center to begin. One of the most extraordinary cycling experiences in the world.
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