,illustration3 ,cover3 ,owachomo ,bridge4 ,illustration3 ,natural ,bridges ,national ,monument ,natural ,bridges ,,national ,,monument ,,utah ,illustration3 ,,united ,,states ,,department ,,of ,,the ,,interior ,,national ,,park ,,service ,,united ,,states ,,department ,,of ,,the ,,interior ,douglas ,mc,kay1 ,secretary ,,national ,,park ,,service1 ,conrad ,l4 ,wirth1 ,director ,three gigantic natural bridges carved out of sandstone and located in a region of superb scenery ,san ,juan ,county1 in the southeastern corner of ,utah1 is a land of brilliantly colored cliffs1 tortuous box canyons1 pinnacles1 and arches4 ,near the center of this scenic and geologic potpourri is ,natural ,bridges ,national ,monument4 ,within the monument are three huge natural bridges4 ,while they are exceeded in size by the great ,rainbow ,bridge1 which lies about #fj miles to the southwest in ,rainbow ,bridge ,national ,monument1 they rank with the largest known natural bridges4 ,one of these bridges--,owachomo--is directly across the #fjj-;foot-deep ,armstrong ,canyon and spans the mouth of a short tributary canyon4 ,the road from ,blanding1 ,utah1 ends at the rim of the ,armstrong ,canyon4 ,to visit the other bridges in the monument1 one must walk4 ,the trail is unimproved1 and sometimes rough1 but the #f-mile hike is rewarded by views of the magnificent canyons1 the bridges1 and ancient ,indian ruins4 ,the headquarters area of the monument overlooks the ,owachomo ,bridge1 and a #cjj-yard trail drops to the bottom of ,armstrong ,canyon to a point where one can walk under the bridge4 ,continuing on this trail1 ,sipapu ,bridge may be reached by a #c-mile walk2 however1 if you wish to see all three bridges with the least walking1 drive your car from headquarters1 #d miles1 to the ,kachina ,bridge parking area and from there it is three-quarters of a mile by a ladder trail to ,kachina ,bridge and #b miles from ,kachina to ,sipapu ,bridge1 up ,white ,canyon4 ,no trail is maintained between ,kachina ,bridge and ,owachomo ,bridge4 ,the ,bridges and ,their ,names ,the bridges were first seen by white man in #ahhc when ,cass ,hite1 a prospector1 visited the region4 ,national publicity was given to the area in #aijd when an illustrated article appeared in the ,national ,geographic ,magazine4 ,in #aijh the area was proclaimed ,natural ,bridges ,national ,monument by ,president ,theodore ,roosevelt4 ,this action was the result of pleas of ,utah citizens and of a ,government surveyor that the bridges be protected by the ,federal ,government4 ,illustration3 ,owachomo is in view at the end of the road4 ,early explorers had named the bridges for members of their parties or for relatives4 ,when the monument was established1 an effort was made to find ,indian names which would fit the bridges4 ,paiute ,indians1 who still live in the country1 had no names for the individual bridges4 ,at the time they were questioned they professed to know only a single term which they applied to all bridges1 natural or otherwise4 ,this was ,ma-,vah-,talk-,tump1 or ,under the ,horse's ,belly4 ,illustration3 ,kachina ,bridge--the youngest of the three4 ,at that time it was generally thought that the prehistoric people who had lived in the ruins of southern ,utah were direct ancestors of the ,hopi ,indians1 so it was natural1 when no ,paiute names were forthcoming1 that ,hopi names were applied to the bridges4 ,they are3 ,owachomo 7,rock ,mound7--,so named because of a large1 rounded block of rock on the mesa near one end of the bridge4 ,also formerly known as the ,edwin ,bridge4 ,kachina--,on one of the abutments of this bridge are numerous prehistoric pictographs1 some of which resemble ,hopi masked dancers1 or kachinas4 ,the former name for this bridge was ,caroline4 ,sipapu--,the graceful arch of this bridge suggested to its namers the sipapu 7place of emergence71 a hole through which the ,hopi believe their ancestors emerged from a lower1 dark world into the present1 sunlit one4 ,this was also known as the ,augusta ,bridge4 ,the dimensions of the bridges are3 ,bridge ,height 7feet7 ,span 7feet7 ,width 7feet7 ,thickness 7feet7 ,owachomo #ajf #ahj #bg #i ,kachina #baj #bjf #dd #ic ,sipapu #bbj #bfh #ca #ec ,how ,natural ,bridges ,are ,made ,to make a natural bridge ,mother ,nature must have several ingredients3 a proper stone that will shape well 7a cross-bedded sandstone is best71 a slowly rising landscape1 and a desert-type stream that occasionally will scour its bed with a tremendous head of water and sand4 ,all these were present in southern ,utah4 ,the stone of the ,natural ,bridges area is a cross-bedded grey sandstone1 known as the ,cedar ,mesa sandstone4 ,it is of ,permian age and similar in appearance and structure to the more recent ,navajo sandstone in which so many caves and arches have been formed4 ,when the land began to rise slowly from its ancient sea bed1 two small streams formed on the western slopes of the ,elk ,ridge4 ,the streams are known today as ,white ,river and ,armstrong ,creek1 its tributary4 ,they made meandering channels across the flat land and gradually entrenched themselves into tortuous canyons4 ,as the land continued to rise1 the streams cut ever deeper canyons4 ,the main purpose1 or the driving force1 of a stream is to make the shortest distance between two points1 that is1 a straight line4 ,every creek and river attempts to make a straight channel with an even grade from its source to its mouth4 ,hills1 ridges1 blocks of rock1 or any other obstacles which a stream must bypass are gradually worn away as the stream makes a channel more to its choice4 ,the tortuous streams in their deep rock channels were constantly trying to straighten their courses4 ,during floods the silt-laden waters were thrown with great force against the walls of the meanders4 ,in several places the fins of rock around which the windings of the streams passed were so thin that during the course of many centuries of buffeting the rock gradually wore away and a hole was bored through the fin4 ,the waters poured through the gap and the bridge was born4 ,after the initial breach was made1 the stream continued to enlarge the opening and to cut its channel still deeper4 ,eventually1 the old meander was left high and dry as a fossil stream bed4 ,ages of the ,bridges ,several phases of bridge-making may be seen at ,natural ,bridges ,national ,monument4 ,kachina ,bridge is a new bridge4 ,it is huge and bulky1 and has a comparatively small opening4 ,white ,river is still actively enlarging the opening beneath the span4 ,sipapu ,bridge is mature4 ,it is a graceful1 symmetrical span1 and its abutments now lie far enough from the stream bed that the river has little or no cutting action on the rock4 ,illustration3 ,sipapu ,bridge1 looking up ,white ,canyon4 ,owachomo ,bridge is in its old age4 ,it suffers no erosion from the stream2 only the slight erosion from rains1 frost action1 or wind-blown sands now attack its surface4 ,the life expectancy of ,owachomo is short compared with that of the other two2 it may span the canyon for centuries yet1 or the crack which will ultimately cause its collapse may already have started4 ,the fate of all the bridges may be seen a short distance up ,white ,canyon from ,sipapu ,bridge where faint scars and damaged abutments on the canyon walls indicate the point where a fourth bridge once spanned the canyon4 ,comparison ,with ,other ,types of ,natural ,bridges ,most of the natural bridges of the ,united ,states are in the ,four ,corners region of the ,southwest where favorable materials and conditions for bridge-making are to be found4 ,there are two other types of bridges which are entirely dissimilar4 ,tonto ,natural ,bridge1 in central ,arizona1 is a built-up bridge created by travertine deposited by springs4 ,natural ,bridge1 in ,virginia--another well-known bridge--apparently was formed when most of the roof of a cavern collapsed4 ,wildlife ,deer are numerous in the pinyon and juniper forest which surrounds the monument1 and mountain sheep1 which spend their summers on the ,elk ,ridge1 winter in the canyons4 ,smaller mammals are numerous1 as are the coyotes and wildcats4 ,an occasional lion works through the monument4 ,archeology ,this section of ,utah supported an ,indian population from about #b1jjj years ago until about ,a4 ,d4 #acjj4 ,thousands of ruins stud the mesas and canyons of the district4 ,comparatively few sites lie within the monument1 however1 for both ,white and ,armstrong ,canyons are too narrow to have furnished enough farming land for more than a few families4 ,visitors who hike around the trail to the bridges may see one cliff dwelling of about #bj rooms and several small rooms 7apparently granaries7 which were built on ledges high on the cliffs4 ,an outstanding feature of the cliff dwelling is a kiva1 or ceremonial room1 with the original roof and ladder intact4 ,the people who lived here during prehistoric times were closely related to those who lived on the ,mesa ,verde in southwestern ,colorado4 ,caution ,the two approach roads serving ,natural ,bridges ,national ,monument from ,blanding1 ,utah1 are unsurfaced dirt roads with steep grades4 ,during heavy rain storms they become either difficult or impassable to travel4 ,the upper road over ,bear's ,ears ,pass 7elevation #i1jjj feet7 is usually blocked by snow and impassable from late ,september until late ,may4 ,the lower road1 via ,comb ,wash1 stays below #g1jjj feet and is usually open most of the year4 ,there are no accommodations for travelers beyond ,blanding4 ,visitors should make certain that they have ample food before they leave ,blanding4 ,there is camping space at the monument for those who have bedding and cooking equipment4 ,a ,national ,park ,service ranger is stationed at the monument only during the summer4 ,administration ,natural ,bridges ,national ,monument1 with an area of #b1fdi4gj acres1 is administered by the ,national ,park ,service1 ,united ,states ,department of the ,interior4 ,communications regarding the monument should be addressed to the ,superintendent1 ,arches ,national ,monument1 ,moab1 ,utah4 ,the ,national ,park ,system1 of which ,natural ,bridges ,national ,monument is a unit1 is dedicated to the conservation of ,america's scenic1 scientific1 and historic heritage for the benefit and enjoyment of the people4 ,illustration3 ,,natural ,,bridges ,,national ,,monument ,,utah ,,sipapu ,,bridge ,,trail ,,kachina ,,bridge ,,parking ,,owachomo ,,bridge ,,ranger ,,station 7,extremely ,rough ,road7 ,,to ,,hite #dh ,,miles ,,to ,,blanding #ej ,,miles ,,armstrong ,,canyon ,,white ,,canyon ,may #aiej ,,nm-,n4,b4 #gjjj ,,revised #aied ,u4 ,s4 ,,government ,,printing ,,office3 #aied ,o-,f--#cjaedd ,transcriber's ,notes --,this e,book is based on a ,u4,s4 government publication which is public domain in the ,united ,states4 --,corrected a few palpable typos4 --,within the map1 transcribed labels1 and added italicized text where needed to define the context4 --,in the text versions only1 text in italics is delimited by underscores4