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National Parks Of The American Rockies
The underside of Navajo Arch is illuminated from below by reflected sunlight. The differential pressures in the stone cause it to fracture and fall, expanding the size of the arch and creating the scaly appearance of the rock.
The Elephant Rocks have a ponderous quality that makes it easy to imagine them having unique personalities.
While dozens of arches have collapsed in the last few decades, Balanced Rock still sits atop its delicate perch. Harder geologic layers sitting on softer ones often result in these unlikely formations.
One of the smaller, less visible arches is Sandstone Arch, hidden between larger stone structures. I had to bend to walk under the arch.
The red layers of rock in this formation are composed of Entrada Sandstone. While they look like regular sedimentary stone, these formations are formed from ancient sand dunes, which lends graceful curves when the stone erodes away.
This evening shot of the South Window of the Windows Arches might look familiar, since the image in the logo at the top of this page shows it on the right. It's a tough scramble to reach the bottom of the arch, but the view around the region from there is certainly worth it.