Delicate Arch

Delicate Arch is a freestanding natural sandstone arch in Arches National Park, Utah, formed from the Slick Rock Member of the Jurassic-age Entrada Sandstone, standing about 16 meters tall on the edge of a slickrock bowl. It developed as groundwater and surface water dissolved and eroded a once-continuous sandstone fin, gradually widening cracks and undercutting the rock until a freestanding span was left connecting two remaining pillars, a process that also produced the many other arches for which the park is named. The arch's isolated position and dramatic form, framing the La Sal Mountains in the distance, have made it an unofficial symbol of the state of Utah, though like all sandstone arches it remains a temporary feature that will eventually collapse under continued weathering.