Double Arch seen through Cove Arch, Arches National Park, Utah

© Jeff Foott/Minden Picture

Underneath the arches. Arches National Park anniversary

Red as far as the eye can see and clear blue skies overhead. Welcome to Arches National Park, Utah. The story of this otherworldly landscape starts 65 million years ago when a dry seabed stood here. Over time, geological forces warped and squeezed the land, twisting the sandstone into lumps and bumps. Later, wind and water carved out the arches, pinnacles, fins, and balanced rocks that now stand in this area. The park has more than 2,000 natural stone arches, the highest concentration of these structures anywhere on Earth. In today's image, we can see two of them: Double Arch, as seen through Cove Arch. The larger arch of Double Arch spans 144 feet and is 112 feet tall, the tallest and second-longest of the park's arches.