Arches National Park is located in eastern Utah. To get here one can come by car. The area is best known for the many natural bridges that can be found here. The park only covers desert and is actually nothing more than desert and natural bridges. The desert was created by the low amount of rainfall. As a result, there is little flora and fauna.
Table of contents
- General information about Arches national park
- History of Arches
- Flora of the park
- Fauna of the park
- Other sights of Arches
- Possible activities
General information about Arches national park
Arches National Park is one of the smaller national parks in the United States. The park is only 310 square kilometers in size. Despite the fact that this national park is quite small, there are more than 2000 natural bridges. One of these natural bridges is one of the most famous in the world, the Delicate arch. The park consists of a desert and is located at a fairly high altitude. This height varies between 1245 meters – the lowest point – and 1723 meters – the highest point. This altitude ensures that the desert is relatively cool compared to other deserts in the United States. What is special about this national park is the possibility to visit and walk in the park even in winter.
History of Arches
This park was already inhabited 10,000 years ago. After America was discovered in 1492, this area remained unknown for a long time. It was not until the year 1775 that the first people from Europe came here, these were only missionaries and therefore no one lived here except the Indians. It was not until the year 1880 that the first people who would stay here came to live here. As a result, this area also became better known. In the year 1929, this area became Arches National Monument. From then on, this area has also been protected, and in 1971 this area was finally declared a national park.
Flora of the park
Since this is a desert, not much flora grows here. The flora found here must therefore be able to adapt to the very variable temperature. The temperature can drop well below zero, while in summer it can rise to about 40 degrees. In addition, the flora must also be able to cope with the small amount of rain that falls. On average, between 10 and 11 millimeters of rain falls every year.
For example, different types of trees grow in this park that are simply green. The tree that is most common here is the conifer, the tree that bears the juniper berry. In addition to trees, some shrubs or shrubs grow here. The rest consists mainly of grassland. To have enough water here, a plant has to have very long roots.
Fauna of the park
The fauna is also not very numerous in this park. For example, there are some bighorn sheep and rattlesnakes. In addition to these animals, there are also deer, pumas, various species of birds and birds of prey, frogs and lizards. The puma is very difficult to find in this park, but with a lot of luck you will find them. The red fox, which also occurs here, is just as shy as the puma. This means that the fox is also difficult to find.
Other sights of Arches
The emphasis in this park is mainly on the natural arches and bridges. One of the most famous in the world is the Delicate Arch. This natural bridge is not that big, but it is very special to see. In addition, in this park you can also find the largest in the world: the Landscape arch.
In addition to natural bridges, you can also find rocks that stand on top of each other, including Balanced rock.
Possible activities
This area is mainly aimed at hikers. One can walk here for many hours. There are walks that only take fifteen minutes, but there are also walks that take more than 5 hours or even 8 hours. The walks to get to the nicer and larger bridges take about 3 hours on average. There are several walks for younger children. There is a walk that takes fifteen minutes to half an hour. This walk mainly goes through loose sand. At the end one will see a natural bridge. Very strict care is taken not to break or even touch anything, if this does happen, a fine can be issued.
In addition to hiking, you can also go mountain biking here. However, this is not possible everywhere and you must first inquire about this. There are also other activities to do here, provided you bring your own off-road vehicle. You must also be informed whether it is permitted. If that off-road vehicle is allowed, there may be a designated spot for it.