Storm Clouds Over the La Sal Mountains at Arches National Park
La Sal Mountains rise above red desert terrain at Arches National Park, Utah.
Arches National Park lies just north of Moab in eastern Utah, bordered by the Colorado River. The La Sal Mountains rise beyond the park's boundary to over 12,000 feet, ranking as Utah's second-highest range and formed roughly 25 to 28 million years ago by intrusions of molten rock that never reached the surface. The park protects more than 2,000 recorded natural stone arches across roughly 76,000 acres, a product of erosion working on an ancient underground salt bed that caused the overlying rock to buckle and fracture. Formations near the Garden of Eden and the Windows section owe their spires and hoodoos to Entrada sandstone, where softer layers wore away and left harder rock standing.
Photo taken in September 2023.