Mesa Arch
Interesting facts
- Mesa Arch has also been known as Rotary Arch and Trail Arch.
- It is classed as a pothole arch: rainwater pooling on the sandstone behind the rim slowly dissolved its way through the rock.
- The arch is carved from Navajo Sandstone, the cemented remains of a vast sea of wind-blown sand dunes from the Early Jurassic.
- It stands at about 6,100 feet (roughly 1,860 metres), right on the rim above a sheer drop of several hundred feet towards Buck Canyon.
- From the arch the view runs down into the gorge of the Colorado River, which has cut far below the level of the Island in the Sky mesa.
- The setting is cold semi-arid desert, receiving less than 10 inches (about 250 mm) of rain and snow in a typical year.
Why it is worth it
Mesa Arch is small as arches go, but it stands in one of the most dramatic positions of any rock span in the American West: right on the lip of the Island in the Sky, the high mesa at the heart of Canyonlands National Park. The arch is a thin band of Navajo Sandstone bridging a gap at the very edge of the cliff, so that the opening beneath it frames not solid ground but empty air and, far below, the broken canyon country of the park.
What has made it famous is a trick of light at dawn. As the sun comes up, its rays strike the cliff face below the arch and bounce upward onto the underside of the span. For a short while, often little more than a quarter of an hour, the underside glows a deep orange-red while the canyon behind is still in shadow, and the arch appears to be lit from within. The glowing span, with the La Sal Mountains framed in its opening, has become one of the most photographed sunrise scenes in the American Southwest.
Even without the sunrise the view is extraordinary. Through and around the arch you look out over tiers of canyons cut into the plateau, past rock pinnacles such as Monster Tower and Airport Tower and the delicate Washer Woman Arch, to the La Sal Mountains in the distance. The Island in the Sky is a flat-topped mesa raised high above the surrounding canyons; Mesa Arch sits on its eastern edge and is one of the easiest ways to feel the scale of that drop. The rim beneath the arch is unfenced and the fall is sheer, so it is admired from the ground, not climbed.
Getting there
The practical base is Moab, Utah. From Moab, drive about 16 km (10 miles) north on US 191, then about 35 km (22 miles) southwest on UT 313 to the Island in the Sky visitor center, roughly 40 minutes in all; the Mesa Arch trailhead is further along the main park road, with a parking area. From there an easy loop trail of about half a mile leads to the arch. The nearest airport is Canyonlands Regional Airport (CNY), about 42 km away; the larger Grand Junction Regional Airport (GJT) is about 113 miles from Moab. There is no public transport into the park, so a car is essential. Spring and autumn are the most comfortable seasons.
Plan your visit
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Nearby places
- Dead Horse Point State Park 17.3 km · scenic-viewpoint
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From the encyclopaedia
Mesa Arch is a pothole arch on the eastern edge of the Island in the Sky mesa in Canyonlands National Park in northern San Juan County, Utah, United States. Mesa Arch is a spectacular natural stone arch perched at the edge of a cliff with vast views of canyons, Monster Tower, Washer Woman Arch, Airport Tower, and the La Sal Mountains in the distance. Access is via a relatively easy hiking trail, just a half-mile long from the park road.
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