Day 6 - MOAB - Ben, Caiti and Nick

DAY 6 - Arches National Park, Moab, UTAH

Ben Walton, Nick Henderson & Caiti Walter

Today we visited the Arches National Park, which is located in the South-West USA in the state of Utah, 5 miles north of Moab (National Park Service, 2010). Our visit covered the southern and eastern regions of the park. We entered the park at 8.40am, where we were all distributed official National Park Service information booklets and maps of the park upon entry. We first stopped at the “Visitor Center”; a subtly designed building in keeping with the surrounding environment, with the paintwork a similar colour scheme to the natural rocks, so as not to create an eye sore. This is located at the south tip of the Park, as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 - Map of Arches National Park near Moab, Utah

Ref: http://www.her-motorcycle.com/images/arches.gif

Once inside the Visitor Center we watched an educational video to give us an insight to the park. The group found the video useful and informative and encouraged us all to explore further.
We then drove on the only tarmac road into the park, where we were able to gain our first impressions of the overwhelming scenery. We were struck by the sheer size of the park, the abundance of stunning natural features and the impressive geology present.

The first site we visited was the Windows Section, followed by a 3 mile-round hike to Delicate Arch from the car parking area. Figure 2 shows a photo of the Windows Section, where the North and South windows are evident. It is important to note the scale of the features shown; the two windows are estimated to be 100m apart. The Windows Trail is 1.1 miles in length.

Figure 2 - "North and South Windows" at Arches National Park near Moab, Utah

Ref: Personal Photo

Then we visited Delicate Arch, a 118ft tall archway located at the end of a 1.5 mile trail to an elevation of 5,300ft, shown in Figure 3. We were surprised by the number of people who were at and around the arch when we arrived. We had mixed views and opinions of Delicate Arch; some members of the group expected the arch to be much taller, whereas others thought it was better than expected.

Figure 3 - "Delicate Arch" at Arches National Park near Moab, Utah

Ref: Greg Spellman.

Whilst in the National Park, one thing that became apparent was the lack of tourist information around the trails. This meant that tourists could not learn about what they were seeing whilst trekking the trails; the majority of information could only be found in the Visitor Center. The facts below were gathered in the Visitor Center at the end of the day; while this was a disadvantage because tourists were unable to learn on the move, the lack of signs meant that the landscape remains unspoilt, which we believe to be a deliberate management technique.




Listed below are some bullet points that we noted within the National Park and at the Visitor's Centre as showing evidence for and information about Tourism, Physical Geography and Resource Management. Our notes have been divided into these three categories.


Tourism

• Between 1955 and 1975 visitations of the park increased 550%. This was because in the 1950's a project called Mission G6 intended to meet tourists needs better.
• There were lots of tourist information boards in the Visitor Centre as well as at the start of the trail.
• There were directions to each attraction on the trail.
• Signs warning tourists about dehydration, wearing correct footwear, dangers of wildlife, etc. were evident.
• The rock climbing opportunities make it an ideal destination for tourists looking for adventure.
• Signs reading no pets and no bikes on the trails limits who can go there.

Ref: National Park Service (2011)

Physical Geography

• Within the park are petrified dunes and much of the south-eastern part of the park is exposed Navajo sandstone.
• This sandstone was deposited approximately 175 million years ago when the desert was covered with much of what is now Western USA.
• One feature within the park is Balanced Rock, which stands at 128ft tall. It takes the shape of a large solid ball made of slick rock (a member of the Entrada Sandstone) and appears to be balancing on the top of a column of Dewey Bridge. Eventually the base will erode and the rock will fall.
• The Windows Arches, including Double Arch, were formed at the contact between the underlying and crumbling Dewey Bridge and the solid slick rock sandstone layers.
• The trail to Delicate Arch is on the side of a collapsed salt dome where layers are turned or jumbled as large blocks of landscape drop unevenly.
• The rock developed from 5000ft of salt accumulating. The seaway evaporated and refilled 29 times. Mountains eroded debris, which washed into the basin. Pressure on the salt forced salt into the area. 
• Cracks at the edge of the Salt Valley widened and thin walls of sandstone (or fins) formed behind. Many arches formed from fins.
• 3 miles wide and 70 miles long was buried with 1 mile of sediment, which turned to rock. Regional uplift of the overlying rock caused the rock to wrinkle on the surface, creating long parallel cracks. The rock was eroded 1 mile. The cracks in the surface allowed water in which dissolved the salt below. There was no support, causing the rocks to collapse leaving todays Salt Valley.
• This process happened over the space of 310 million years.
• Water is not abundant here and changes the landscape suddenly but forcibly.

Ref: National Park Service (2011)




Resource Management

• Evidence of management of the park is shown by:- 
• The tarmac road leading into the park,
• Limited car parking, 
• No access to Delicate Arch except on foot, 
• Educational information for tourists to reduce their impact, 
• Limited signs and therefore limited impact on the landscape, 
• Recycling and rubbish collection with "trash cans", "plastic" and "aluminium" bins to promote sustainable living
• Fencing and signs made from wooden timber, rather than manufactured metals.
• "Trail Rules" are in place to minimise impact
• A sign on the Delicate Arch trail reading "Project funded by this parks user fee", informing visitors how their money is being spent, ie. on the trail improvement project.
• By have minimal impact in terms of real management they are preserving the parks natural state as much as possible.

Ref: National Park Service (2011)


References
National Park Service (2011) Visitors Centre Information. Department of the Interior; Moab.
National Park Service (2010) Arches National Park U.S. Department of the Interior; Moab. Issue 3. 8.