Delicate Arch

델리케이트 아치

Delicate Arch is a freestanding natural sandstone arch in Arches National Park, near the town of Moab in Utah, United States. It is about 16 metres (52 feet) tall, and it is the most widely recognised landmark in the park.

See it on the 3D globe →

At a glance

Country: United States
Location: Arches National Park, Utah, USA
Height: 16 m

Quick answers

Where is Delicate Arch?

Delicate Arch is in Arches National Park, Utah, USA, United States.

How tall is Delicate Arch?

Delicate Arch is about 16 m tall.

A free-standing sandstone arch in Arches National Park, featured on Utah's licence plates.

Its picture appears on Utah licence plates and on a postage stamp that marked the state's 100th anniversary in 1996. The Olympic torch relay for the 2002 Winter Olympics also passed through the arch. The arch stands alone on a bare rock slope, which makes it easy to spot, and it is one of the best-known natural arches in the world.

How did the arch form?

Delicate Arch is made of Entrada Sandstone. Long ago there was a thin wall of sandstone, called a fin. Weathering and erosion slowly wore it away, leaving the arch behind.

Other arches in the park formed the same way, but because of their position and less dramatic shape they are not as famous. Arches National Park as a whole is home to more than 2,000 natural stone arches.

Why is it called Delicate?

Local cowboys used to call it funny names such as the Chaps or the Schoolmarm's Bloomers, because of its shape. The name Delicate Arch was given by Frank Beckwith, who led an expedition to explore the area in the winter of 1933 and 1934.

The arch was not part of the first national monument in 1929. It was added when the monument was enlarged in 1938. In summer, white-throated swifts nest at the top of the arch.