Existing comment:
Natural Bridge:
High on the opposite cliff the stone bridge called Crawford Arch is barely visible. Its dimensions are difficult to judge from this distance. Often Zion's outsized features and the enormous scale of the place create distortions of height and distance.
William L. Crawford, who lived on a farm at this site in the late 1800s, was apparently the first pioneer settler to "discover" the natural bridge. Yet the Ancestral Puebloans and Paiutes who previously traveled this canyon undoubtedly knew of the arch's existence.
A natural bridge starts to form at a crack or weak joint behind a stone slab. As water and weathering dissolve the loosely cemented sandstone, the crack gets enlarged. When big blocks fall away, an arch opens up.
Finding Crawford Arch typifies the discovery experience of Zion -- what the scenery can reveal if you travel with an active eye. Hikers can view a similar feature, Kolob Arch, deep in the park's Kolob Canyon area. |