Iconic arch collapses in southern Utah
Published 5:00 am Saturday, August 9, 2008
ARCHES NATIONAL PARK, Utah — One of the largest and most visible arches in Arches National Park has collapsed.
Paul Henderson, the park’s chief of interpretation, said Wall Arch collapsed sometime late Monday or early Tuesday.
The arch is along Devils Garden Trail, one of the most popular in the park. For years, the arch has been a favorite stopping point for photographers.
Henderson said the arch was claimed by forces that will eventually destroy others in the park: gravity and erosion.
“They all let go after awhile,” Henderson said Friday.
He said it’s the first collapse of a major arch in the park since nearby Landscape Arch fell in 1991.
The arch, first reported and named in 1948, was more than 33 feet tall and 71 feet across. It ranked 12th in size among the park’s estimated 2,000 arches.
No one has reported seeing it fall.