Rainbow Bridge National Monument is administered by Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, southern Utah, United States. Rainbow Bridge is often described as the world's highest natural bridge. The span of Rainbow Bridge was reported in 1974 by the Bureau of Reclamation to be , but a measurement of span according to definition by the Natural Arch and Bridge Society in 2007 resulted in a value of . At the top it is thick and wide. The bridge, which is of cultural importance to a number of area Native American tribes, has been designated a Traditional Cultural Property by the National Park Service.

Size

Two other natural arches,

Kolob Arch Kolob Arch is a natural arch in Zion National Park, Utah, United States. According to the Natural Arch and Bridge Society (NABS), it is the sixth-longest natural arch in the world. In 2006, the Society measured the span at 287.4 ± 2 feet (87.6 m ...

and Landscape Arch, both also in southern Utah, have confirmed spans several meters longer than Rainbow Bridge, but by most definitions of the terms they are considered to be arches rather than bridges. With a height of Rainbow Bridge does indeed stand taller than either of its longer competitors, but it is outdone by

Aloba Arch Aloba Arch is the name of a natural arch located in Chad. Large natural arches are somewhat rare outside the southern and western regions of China and the Colorado Plateau of the southwest United States. Chad's Ennedi Plateau, located within th ...

in Chad at . The world's tallest (though less easily accessible) arch is Töshük Tagh, better known as Shipton's Arch, in China at an estimated . Finally,

Xianren Bridge Xianren Bridge () is a natural arch created by flowing water that has the world's longest recorded span. Carved of limestone karst, the formation bridges Buliu River in the northern Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. Because of its remo ...

(also known as Fairy Bridge), in Guangxi Province, China, with a span of about , and a height of the opening of , appears to be the natural bridge with the largest span in the world.

Access

Rainbow Bridge is one of the most accessible of the large arches of the world. It can be reached by a two-hour boat ride on Lake Powell from either of two marinas near Page, Arizona, followed by a mile-long walk from the National Park wharf in Bridge Canyon, or by hiking several days overland from a trailhead on the south side of Lake Powell (obtain a permit from the Navajo Nation in

Window Rock, Arizona Window Rock ( nv, , ) is a census-designated place that serves as the seat of government and capital of the Navajo Nation, the largest territory in North America of a sovereign Native American nation. The capital lies within the boundaries of the ...

Geology

Rainbow Bridge is made from sandstone originally deposited by wind as sand dunes, during the end of the

Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Year#Abbreviations yr and ya, Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 ...

and the Jurassic periods. Extreme fluctuations in climate during the Triassic and Jurassic periods—the region was alternately a sea and desert on par with the Sahara—produced layers of sandstone with different levels of hardness. By the end of the Jurassic, the sea returned to cover these layers of sandstone and compressed them so tightly that they would persist until the present day. As Bridge Creek flowed toward the growing Colorado River during the last ice age, it carved first through softer rocks and veered away from the harder Triassic and Jurassic sandstones, eventually creating a wide

hairpin bend A hairpin turn (also hairpin bend or hairpin corner) is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn about 180° to continue on the road. It is named for its resemblance to a bent metal ha ...

that flowed around a solid "fin" of sandstone that would become Rainbow Bridge. The previous course of the creek is still visible above the bridge. Water flows back on itself at bends and wide spots, creating swirling eddies along the banks. As the creek flowed around Rainbow Bridge fin, these abrasive eddies formed on both the upstream and downstream sides and cut circular alcoves in the rock wall. The sediment in the creek eventually scoured the softer layers of sandstone away, leaving the harder layers behind.

History

Located in the rugged, isolated canyons at the feet of

Navajo Mountain , photo = NavajoMtn (cropped).jpg , photo_caption = Navajo Mountain and Lake Powell, looking southeast from the Kaiparowits Plateau , elevation_ft = 10348 , elevation_ref = , prominence_ft = 4226 , prominence_ref = , listing = , locati ...

, Rainbow Bridge was known for centuries by the Native Americans who have long held the bridge sacred.

Ancient Pueblo People The Ancestral Puebloans, also known as the Anasazi, were an ancient Native American culture that spanned the present-day Four Corners region of the United States, comprising southeastern Utah, northeastern Arizona, northwestern New Mexico, an ...

were followed much later by

Paiute Paiute (; also Piute) refers to three non-contiguous groups of indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. Although their languages are related within the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages, these three groups do not form a single set. The term "Paiu ...

and Navajo groups who named the bridge ''Nonnezoshe'' or "rainbow turned to stone." Several Native American families still reside nearby. By the 1800s, Rainbow Bridge was probably seen by wandering trappers, prospectors, and cowboys. Not until 1909, though, was its existence publicized to the outside world. Two separate exploration parties—one headed by University of Utah Dean Byron Cummings, and another by government surveyor, W.B. Douglass—began searching for the legendary span. Eventually, they combined efforts. Paiute guides Nasja Begay and Jim Mike led the way, along with trader and explorer John Wetherill. Late in the afternoon of August 15, coming down what is now Bridge Canyon, the party saw Rainbow Bridge for the first time. The next year, on May 30, 1910, U.S. President William Howard Taft used presidential proclamation to designate Rainbow Bridge National Monument. Teddy Roosevelt and

Zane Grey Pearl Zane Grey (January 31, 1872 – October 23, 1939) was an American author and dentist. He is known for his popular adventure novels and stories associated with the Western genre in literature and the arts; he idealized the American fronti ...

were among the first visitors to make the trek by foot and horseback from Oljeto or

. In 1924 S.I. and Hubert Richardson built a road north from Red Lake (Tonalea) to the west side of Navajo Mountain, where they built a rustic stone building and facilities for mules and visitors, calling it Rainbow Lodge. They established a trail from the lodge to Cliff Canyon, then over Redbud Pass to Bridge Canyon. The 14-mile trip from the lodge to Rainbow Bridge could be made in one day by mule or horse. Bill and Catherine Wilson operated the lodge from 1928 to 1951, except for the World War II years. In 1942 Barry Goldwater (later US Senator and presidential candidate) acquired a half interest in the lodge. The main building at the site burned in August 1951. Merritt and Winona Holloway operated the lodge in 1952, using a garage building as a dining hall. Miles Hedrick conducted some trips from the lodge site for the next few years, before the site was abandoned. The site is now the trailhead for hikers to the bridge. Due to erosion, Redbud Pass is no longer passable for horses. Rainbow Bridge became more accessible with the popularity of

river running Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

Glen Canyon Glen Canyon is a natural canyon carved by a length of the Colorado River, mostly in southeastern and south-central Utah, in the United States. Glen Canyon starts where Narrow Canyon ends, at the confluence of the Colorado River and the Dirty D ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, although the trip still required several days floating the Colorado River plus a six-mile hike up-canyon. By the early 1950s, people could travel upstream by jet boat from

Lee's Ferry Lees Ferry (also known as Lee's Ferry, Lee Ferry, Little Colorado Station and Saints Ferry) is a site on the Colorado River in Coconino County, Arizona in the United States, about southwest of Page and south of the Utah–Arizona state li ...

. Glen Canyon Dam was authorized in 1956. By 1963, the gates on the dam closed and rising Lake Powell began to engulf the river and its side canyons. Higher water made motorboat access to Rainbow Bridge much easier, bringing thousands of visitors each year. In 1974, Navajo tribal members who lived in the history of Rainbow Bridge filed suit in U.S.a District Court against the Secretary of the Interior, the Commissioner of the

Bureau of Reclamation The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...

, and the Director of the National Park Service. The suit was an attempt to preserve important Navajo religious sites that were being inundated by the rising waters of Lake Powell. The court ruled against the Navajo, saying that the need for water storage outweighed their concerns. In 1980, the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that to close Rainbow Bridge, a public site, for Navajo religious ceremonies would violate the

U.S. Constitution The Constitution of the United States is the supreme law of the United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven articles, it delineates the nation ...

which protects the religious freedom of all citizens. By 1993, a National Park Service General Management Plan, involving much public input, was adopted. As part of the planning process, the National Park Service consulted with the five Native American nations affiliated with Rainbow Bridge: the Navajo, Hopi, San Juan Southern

, Kaibab Paiute, and White Mesa Ute. Chief among their concerns was that Rainbow Bridge—a religious and sacred place—be protected and visited in a respectful manner. Additionally, the tribes expressed concerns about visitors approaching or walking under the bridge. Today, the National Park Service asks visitors to be respectful of its significance to the people who have long held Rainbow Bridge sacred. It is not illegal, however, for visitors to approach and walk under the bridge from one side to the other along or just above the creek bed, and there is a well-worn path under the bridge that is regularly used.

References

External links