Iconic stone arch collapses in southern Utah park
By MIKE STARK, Associated Press Writer
1 hour, 49 minutes ago

ARCHES NATIONAL PARK, Utah - One of the largest and most photographed arches in Arches National Park has collapsed.

Paul Henderson, the park's chief of interpretation, said Wall Arch collapsed sometime late Monday or early Tuesday.

The 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.

Henderson said the arch was claimed by forces that will eventually destroy others in the park: gravity and erosion.

"They all let go after a while," he said Friday.

He said it's the first collapse of a major arch in the park since nearby Landscape Arch fell in 1991. No one has reported seeing it fall.

Like others in the park, Wall Arch was formed by entrada sandstone that was whittled down over time into its distinctive and photogenic formation.

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.

Rock has continued to fall from the remaining arms of the arch forcing the closure of a portion of the trail.

Officials from the National Park Service and the Utah Geological Survey visited the site Thursday, noting stress fractures in the remaining formation. The trail won't be opened until the debris is cleared away and it's safe for visitors, Henderson said.

I was nowhere near it, I swear.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

It's too bad they fall at a rate faster than they get formed.

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

Objects fall at the same rate.

On a side note, I wonder how long it did take for the arch's to form.

google heerrreees howie.

Wish I'd have been there for that.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

damn gravity. Hate that.

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1985 380SE Blue/Blue - 230,000 miles
2012 Subaru Forester 5-speed
2005 Toyota Sienna
2004 Chrysler Sebring convertible
1999 Toyota Tacoma

At some time or other they formed faster than they fell.

If they always formed faster then they fell we would be butt-deep in arches.

If they formed and fell at a compensating rate there would be a constant number, on average.

If they always fell faster than they form we would never see them.

The formations are still growing which puts many of them @ 300m years and some change. When is an arch conceived? Is it when the erosion begins or able to support itself?

Is it conceived when nature thrusts through the barrier?

One big flood may have formed it.

Ooooooo, I like it. Mother Nature's lower region thrust upward and was met by a gushing, viscous flood.

My parents were standing beside that arch less than a month ago. Good thing they didn't delay that vacation.

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Greg Schwall

1983 300SD - 465,000 miles

My arches fell, but the Army still took me.

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Peach Parts W124.128 User Group.

80 280SL
85 300SD
87 300TD
92 300D 2.5 Turbo
92 300TE 4Matic

Bzzz! Wrong. If it took 2 million years to form and one million to fall, I think someone might see it.

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1986 300SDL, 362K
1984 300D, 138K

Take your numbers.

It only works if they're continuously forming. If it was a one-time event 3 million years ago or longer .....