| ||||
      Tweet  | |
Sipapu Natural Bridge, Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah
Author: Christian Mehlführer (Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 Generic)
Natural Bridges National Monument is a protected nature site in San Juan County, Utah. It was named after the three natural bridges within the park, of which the Sipapu is the 8th largest natural bridge in the world.
Natural Bridges National Monument is located in southeastern Utah, just about 50 miles (80 km) to the northwest of the Four Corners boundary. The park is at an elevation of between 5,500 feet to 6,000 feet (1,700 m to 2,000 m), at the junction of White Canyon and Armstrong Canyon. The vegetation in Natural Bridges National Monument comprises mainly pinyon-juniper forest, with brittle brush, sage and other shrubs.
Owachomo Natural Bridge
Author: Laban712 (public domain)
The Natural Bridges site was first publicized by the National Geographic Magazine in 1904. This led to a national monument designation by President Theodore Roosevelt on 16 April, 1908, making it the first national monument of Utah.
The main attraction of Natural Bridges National Monument is undoubtedly the bridges. They can be viewed from the Bridge View Drive, a road that winds through the park, passing all three bridges. The bridges are called Owachomo Bridge, Kachina Bridge and Sipapu Bridge.
Owachomo Bridge is 106 ft (32 m) tall, 180 ft (55 m) long, 27 ft (8 m) wide and 9 ft (3 m) thick. Sipapu Bridge is 220 ft (67 m) tall, 268 ft (82 m) long, 31 ft (9.5 m) wide and 53 ft (16 m thick). Kachina Bridge is 210 ft (64 m) tall, 204 ft (62 m) long, 44 ft (13 m) wide and 93 ft (28 m) thick.
Visiting Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah
The nearest major town is Blanding. From there, take US Highway 191 and then continue on State Highway 95 heading west until the entrance to the park. See location and direction map here.Natural Bridges National Monument is open all year round. The visitor center is open from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm from October through March and from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm from April through September. The center is closed on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year Day. Entrance fee is $6 per private vehicle including driver and passengers, and $3 per person for visitors on motorcycles, bicycles or on foot. Fees are valid for 7 days.
Other sites in Utah with natural bridges and arches include Arches National Park and Rainbow Bridge National Monument.
Return to National Monuments of the United States
Return to Discover Utah
Return to Exploring America
  
  
Point - Click - Discover!Thanks for visiting this webpage. To continue exploring, choose another destination! My World Travel Guides - celebrating a beautiful world beautifully. Earning a living as a Happy Jobless GuyI am a Happy Jobless Guy! I am one of the few people who is fortunate enough to earn an income from my websites that I don't to go out to work. My sites get thousands of visitors every day. It has been a long process, but it is something everybody can achieve, and that means YOU. The following are some articles which you might want to read if you want to do what I do:
 |