Partition Arch, Devils Garden Trail, Arches National Park, near Moab, Utah, USA.

Partition Arch, Devils Garden Trail, Arches National Park, near Moab, Utah, USA. A thick underground salt bed underlies the creation of the park's many arches, spires, balanced rocks, sandstone fins, and eroded monoliths. Some 300 million years ago, a sea flowed into the area and eventually evaporated to create the salt bed up to thousands of feet thick. Over millions of years, the salt bed was covered with debris eroded from the Uncompahgre Uplift to the northeast. During the Early Jurassic (about 210 million years ago) desert conditions deposited the vast Navajo Sandstone. On top of that, about 140 million years ago, the Entrada Sandstone was deposited from stream and windblown sediments. Later, over 5000 feet (1500 m) of younger sediments were deposited and then mostly worn away, leaving the park's arches eroded mostly within the Entrada formation.

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Filename: 1403UT-194_Partition-Arch_Utah.jpg
Copyright: © Tom Dempsey / PhotoSeek.com
Image Size: 5333x8000 / 9.0MB; http://www.photoseek.com/; PhotoBest desert landscape nature outdoor pattern ArtandCreativeMarketing.com
Contained in galleries: USA: Utah favorites, USA: Southwest favorites (Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, Nevada), Highlights 2014, 2014 Mar 15-Apr 09: SW favorites: southwest (UT, NM, TX), OR, CA, 2014 Mar 15-Apr 09: all: southwest (UT, NM, TX), OR, CA, Utah: Arches National Park

Partition Arch, Devils Garden Trail, Arches National Park, near Moab, Utah, USA. A thick underground salt bed underlies the creation of the park's many arches, spires, balanced rocks, sandstone fins, and eroded monoliths. Some 300 million years ago, a sea flowed into the area and eventually evaporated to create the salt bed up to thousands of feet thick. Over millions of years, the salt bed was covered with debris eroded from the Uncompahgre Uplift to the northeast. During the Early Jurassic (about 210 million years ago) desert conditions deposited the vast Navajo Sandstone. On top of that, about 140 million years ago, the Entrada Sandstone was deposited from stream and windblown sediments. Later, over 5000 feet (1500 m) of younger sediments were deposited and then mostly worn away, leaving the park's arches eroded mostly within the Entrada formation.