5 Fun Facts About Arches National Park

It’s time to learn some fun facts about Arches National Park!

This is one of the coolest parks to visit, so we are so excited to jump into these truly fascinating fun facts about this national park. From the geology to the wildlife to the stars in the sky, we are covering everything that makes this park so incredible. Join us for this exciting episode!

Join us as we discuss:

The crazy number of natural arches this park has
The cryptobiotic crust you’ll find in this park
The fascinating wildlife you’ll find here
What makes this park an International Dark Sky Park
The human history of this park

We hope you enjoyed this episode and that you get the chance to get out there and explore this exciting and inviting park soon. There is an Arches adventure waiting for you out there!

If you need any help, make sure you grab our Arches itinerary!

Listen to the Full Podcast Episode:

Arches Fun Facts

1. Arches has the densest concentration of arches in the world

There are over 2,000 documented arches in the park. Talk about living up to a name!

To count as an arch, it must have a span or opening of at least three feet and be able to let light through. There is a book in the Arches Visitor Center where every documented arch is listed.

The key to making all these sandstone arches is an erg. No, this isn’t a Star Wars or Dune reference! Ergs are vast deserts of sand and dunes, otherwise known as sand seas. Arches was a sand dune desert. A modern example is the Sahara Desert.

The arches were carved from rock formed during the Jurassic Period. Pressure over time petrified the sand dunes into stone, which you can see when driving through Arches. We talk about where to see these in Episode 64: Exploring Arches.

Imagine jumping into a ball pit. There’s plenty of room for you to move around even if you sink to the bottom, right? If you pour water in, it could move between the plastic balls. That’s the same concept that created the Entrada Sandstone formation. Eroded sand particles became perfectly round and could let water through.

Under the Entrada Sandstone is the Carmel Formation. Clay minerals fused with the round sand and filled the gaps. That made a hard layer of sandstone. Together, the Carmel Formation and the Entrada Sandstone made the perfect conditions to create 2,000 arches.

Make sure you catch the full podcast episode to hear how erosion created the famous arches of Arches!

2. 70-80% of the living ground cover is a part of the cryptobiotic crust

We won’t be surprised if cryptobiotic crust is a new term for you! Let’s break it down:

Crypto = Hidden
Biotic = Life
Crust = Matted soil

You have to look at your feet to see a whole new world beyond the cacti. But don’t bust the crust! Stepping on the cryptobiotic crust can destroy an entire world of life that takes hundreds of years to grow back.

The crust is the glue that holds life together in the desert. It retains moisture and gives plants a foothold in the sand.

In some areas with well-preserved cryptobiotic crust, you can see how it’s grown over time. Mosses, algae, and cyanobacteria all thrive in the thin layer on top of the sand.

As rain lands on the cryptobiotic crust, it soaks through and into the soil, spreading its sticky fibers into the sand. Black mounds are the best examples of this process – be on the lookout during your hikes in Arches!

3. Arches is home to the world’s fastest metamorphizing amphibian

Hold on to your hiking boots, everyone. We’re giving you another science lesson for this Arches fun fact.

Metamorphosis is the transformation of amphibians from egg to tadpole to adult. Depending on temperature, that process can take a few months or even a few years.

And then there’s the Great Basin Spadefoot Toad. In Arches, where temperatures can reach 100°F in the summer, they metamorphize in 14 days!

Temperature isn’t the only factor affecting their ability to thrive. You might recall from your science class days that amphibians are water-loving. Where does the Great Basin Spadefoot Toad find enough water to live in the desert?

They’ve become masters of waiting for the perfect summer storm to come through Arches. They find springs and puddles and hidden pools as the rain falls.

The toads don’t hesitate and begin immediately laying their eggs when rain starts falling. After that, the race is on to reach adulthood before the water dries up.

4. Arches is certified as an international dark sky park

Arches is an excellent place for those from urban areas to see the Milky Way in the night sky for the first time! Arches was certified as an international dark sky park in 2019, an honor given to only 100 parks worldwide.

Arches is the perfect park to visit if you’re a space nerd. Park Rangers lead astronomy programs on summer nights. That’s why they say, “Half the park is after dark!”

5. A group of six people found 95% of the arches in Arches

Arches National Park was officially designated in 1929 by President Herbert Hoover. For most of its history and as recently as 1970, the official park literature stated there were only 90 arches.

Then how did we get to 2,000 known arches?!?

A group of six people dedicated their time to hunting down every arch in the park around 20-30 years ago. Their hard work is how we know about an additional 1,900 arches now officially listed by the National Park System.

Would you want to see all 2,000 arches? Let us know!

Don’t forget to complete your task for this week! Head over to our Facebook or Instagram page and share which national park you would like to explore and what adventure you would want to have there. Let us know!

Links mentioned in this episode:

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