Angel Arch is the largest natural arch located within

Canyonlands National Park Canyonlands National Park is an American national park 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 River, and their ...

, in

San Juan County, Utah San Juan County ( ) is a county in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Utah. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 14,746. Its county seat is Monticello, while its most populous city is Blanding. The Utah State Le ...

. 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 Runoff, run-off or RUNOFF may refer to: * RUNOFF, the first computer text-formatting program * Runoff or run-off, another name for bleed, printing that lies beyond the edges to which a printed sheet is trimmed * Runoff or run-off, a stock market ...

from Angel Arch drains north into the nearby

Colorado River The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...

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 15th, 2009. The album was released a year and a half after Get Warmer, making it the longest gap between the release of two chron ...

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 The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal govern ...

, it was called Pegasus Arch. The

first ascent In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they e ...

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. Fin ...

composed of

Cedar Mesa Sandstone Cedar Mesa Sandstone (also known as the Cedar Mesa Formation) is a sandstone memberThe Cutler Formation is sometimes classified as the Cutler Group, in which case Cedar Mesa Sandstone is classified as a formation rather than a member. of the C ...

, 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, f ...

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

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and 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 251.9 Mya. It is the last period of the Pale ...

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 is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, nota ...

system, it is located in a

Cold semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi-a ...

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

References

External links

{{stack, {{commons category, Angel Arch (Canyonlands National Park)
Canyonlands National Park
National Park Service * Angel Arc
weather forecast
* Angel Arch
YouTube

1956 photo (as Pegasus Arch)
Landforms of San Juan County, Utah Natural arches of San Juan County, Utah Natural arches of Utah Colorado Plateau Canyonlands National Park Sandstone formations of the United States

Geology

Climate

Gallery

See also

References

External links