Angel Arch is the largest natural arch located within

Canyonlands National Park Canyonlands National Park is a national park of the United States located in southeastern Utah near the town of Moab. The park preserves a colorful landscape eroded into numerous canyons, mesas, and buttes by the Colorado River, the Green Rive ...

, in

San Juan County, Utah San Juan County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 14,518. Its county seat is Monticello, Utah, Monticello, while its most popu ...

. Some consider it the most beautiful and spectacular arch in the park, if not the entire canyon country. It is situated in a side canyon of Salt Creek Canyon, in the Needles District of the park. Precipitation runoff from Angel Arch drains north into the nearby

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

via Salt Creek. A 29-mile round-trip hike to Angel Arch leads to a viewpoint, and an additional 0.75-mile trail

scrambles ''Scrambles'' is the fifth studio album by Bomb the Music Industry!, released digitally and physically on February 15, 2009. The album was released a year and a half after '' Get Warmer'', making it the longest gap between the release of two chr ...

up into the arch opening. The arch's descriptive name comes from its resemblance to an angel with wings folded, and standing with its back to the arch opening. Before this feature's name was officially adopted in 1963 by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, it was called Pegasus Arch. The

first ascent In mountaineering and climbing, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in climbing guidebook, guide books), is the first successful documented climb to the top of a mountain or the top of a particular climbing route. Early 20th-century mountaineers a ...

was made in June 1993, by John Markel and Kevin Chase.

Geology

This geological formation is an eroded

fin A fin is a thin component or appendage attached to a larger body or structure. Fins typically function as foils that produce lift or thrust, or provide the ability to steer or stabilize motion while traveling in water, air, or other fluids. F ...

composed of

Cedar Mesa Sandstone Cedar Mesa Sandstone (also known as the Cedar Mesa Formation) is a sandstone Geological unit, memberThe Cutler Formation is sometimes classified as the Cutler Group (geology), Group, in which case Cedar Mesa Sandstone is classified as a Formation ...

, which is the remains of coastal

sand dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

deposited about 245–286 million years ago, during the early

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years, from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.902 Mya. It is the s ...

period. The top of the formation rises above the canyon floor, and the opening has a height of , and a width of .Bob Fagley, Angel Arch
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Climate

Spring and fall are the most favorable seasons to visit Angel Arch. According to the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, it is located in a

Cold semi-arid climate Cold is the presence of low temperature, especially in the atmosphere. In common usage, cold is often a subjective perception. A lower bound to temperature is absolute zero, defined as 0.00K on the Kelvin scale, an absolute thermodynamic ...

zone, which is defined by the coldest month having an average mean temperature below −0 °C (32 °F) and at least 50% of the total annual precipitation being received during the spring and summer. This desert climate receives less than of annual rainfall, and snowfall is generally light during the winter.

Gallery

File:Angel Arch, along tributary of Salt Canyon.jpg, Angel Arch File:The Molar and Angel Arch.jpg, The Molar (left) and Angel Arch at mid-day File:Canyonlands NP Angel Arch.jpg, East aspect in afternoon File:A131, Canyonlands National Park, Utah, USA, Angel Arch, 2004.jpg, Southeast aspect File:Angel Arch, 1958.jpg, Southwest aspect

Geology

Climate

Gallery

See also

References

External links