Gravity seems to be the final culprit that pulled the sandstone Wall Arch, into the 43rd pile of decorative desert rubble last week in a park in southern Utah. Arches National Park has a variety of unique and world famous arches, including the iconic oft photographed Delicate Arch, that are susceptible to erosion from wind as rainfall rarely tops 250 mm (10 inches) per year. Moab, Utah welcomes a wealth of BASE jumpers, four wheelers, mountain bikers, hikers, canyon explorers and many budding and professional photographers among almost a million tourists gravitating to the park to capture their magical photograph.
As part of their caretaker portfolios, the United States Park Service has responsibility for maintenance inside Arches National Park. These rock formations reside atop a 300 million year old sea of salt that gives the Entrada sandstone such beautiful contrasting rust and salmon hues compacted alongside the layers of creamier Navajo Sandstone against backdrops of cerulean skies. It also foretells the eventual crumbling of the formations of such notables as the Double O Arch and the rock ruins from the over 300 foot long Landscape Arch that tumbled to its doom in 1991.

The arch (sic Wall 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.

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.

Closure of the trail by the Park Service is temporary until the area poses no danger to hikers. It makes the beauty of the photographs taken of the arches more important as their are no guarantees as to how much longer they will last with the geological conditions that are gifts from the Jurassic era. The area is also an important ecosystem with incredible biodiversity of flora plus midget faded and Western rattlesnakes, Western collared lizards and mountain lions. Geologists expressed concern that this particular rock formation is not yet stable with a possibility of further slides. (Double O Arch)

Whatever is left in southeastern Utah in the park will take on a different form and shape from the natural forces and be photographic magnets in a new way. (North Window and South Window Arches)