By returning small and safe fires to the ecosystem we can slowly restore a natural mix of forest types, providing better habitat for a greater diversity of animals. This is evidence of our prescribed fire program. You will notice several areas of burned trees as you drive through the park. Aspen are easily shaded out by spruce and Douglas Fir. Historic photographs suggest that aspen were much more common throughout the southern portion of the park prior to intense fire suppression efforts of the past 75 years. In the southern corner of the parking lot you will notice a small stand of Quaking Aspen. Thus, Bryce Canyon's 'bridges', including Natural Bridge, are spectacular examples of arches that, like the hoodoos, are constantly at risk of destruction as the forces of erosion continue to wear the rock away. Finally gravity pulled loose the weakened pockets of rock at the center creating the hole you see. Dissolution, the chemical dissolving of rock by rainwater, chewed away at the top and sides of this wall of rock. Frost wedging, the expanding of cracks in rock as water turns to ice, weakened the rock. This window or arch formed from a combination of processes. This arch, sculpted from some of the reddest rock of the Claron Formation (rich in iron oxide minerals), poses a stark contrast to the dark green of the Ponderosa forest that peeks through the arch from the canyon below.īridges form through the erosion of rock by streams or rivers. Though the name tends to be misleading, Natural Bridge is one of several natural arches in Bryce Canyon and creates a beautiful scene at this viewpoint.
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