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Arches National Monument

Arches National Park, located near Moab, Utah, in the mid-western United States, is noted for its concentration of natural arches - about 2,000 have been located in the park's area.

The park is 119 mile&sup2 or 76,519 acres (310 km²). Its highest elevation is 5,653 feet (1,723 m) at Elephant Butte and its lowest elevation is 4,085 feet (1,245 m) at the visitor center. It receives 10 inches (250 mm) of rain a year on average.

The area was designated as a national park in 1971. Previously, it had been a national monument since 1929. More than 760,000 people visited it in 2002.

Among the notable features of the park are:

• Delicate Arch, a lone-standing arch which has become a symbol of Utah
• Balanced Rock, a large balancing rock
• Double Arch, two arches located close to each other
• Landscape Arch, a very thin, long arch over 300 feet (100 m), the largest in the park

American writer Edward Abbey was a park ranger at Arches National Monument when he kept journals that became his book Desert Solitaire. The opening scenes of the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade were filmed at the park.