Landscape Arch

 

Landscape Arch can be seen while hiking along the Devils Garden Trail. It comes into view from the trail a short distance away then the trail drops to a side trail and the intersection with the Primitive Trail. The arch is the second widest in the world at 290 feet wide. It looks like a very fragile natural arch and is only 6 feet around at its thinnest section. In 1991 a 73 foot portion on the arch broke off and again in 1995 another 47 foot section and 30 foot section broke off. Due to this, the park service closed a loop trail that went under the arch. However, this visit I notice the park service has extended the trail a great deal.  The portions that have broken off were not considered structurally important and actually may have lightened the load of the arch and may extend the life of the bridge. A very impressive sight!