Wall Arch, one of the larger arches in Arches National Park, Utah, collapsed this past August due to erosion and gravity. The arch was one of the most popular in the national park, and one of the most photographed arches seen.
It was located along the extremely popular Devil’s Garden Trail. Wall Arch was more than 33 feet tall and 71 feet across.
In a park with over 2,000 arches, Wall Arch was the 12th largest in the park. After the collapse, a portion of the Devil’s Garden Trail was subsequently closed to the public due to debris as rock continued to fall from the remaining arms of the arch.
Paul Henderson, the park’s chief of interpretation, said the arch was claimed by the same natural forces – erosion and gravity – that will eventually destroy others in the park.
“They all let go after awhile,” he remarked. The collapse of Wall Arch is the first collapse of a major arch in the park since nearby Landscape Arch collapsed in 1991.
