Petrified Dunes Arches National Park

When you travel to see Arches National Park, you make the logical assumption that you are going to see a lot of arches. While that is certainly true, there are also a lot of other geological wonders to surprise you at this park. As you head away from Park Avenue toward Balanced Rock, there is a small turnout that most cars drive right on by. It’s worth a stop because you get to see the remnants of ancient sand dunes that have been petrified:

petrified sand dunes at Arches National Park

ancient sand dunes that have been petrified at Arches National Park

This is what the information sign at the turn-out had to say:

Ancient Sand Dunes: This vast area was once covered by extensive sand dunes. Some 200 million years ago, winds from the northwest carried tons of fine-grained sand into this area, creating an immense desert. Over time, the sand drifts were covered by other layers of sediment, compressed and cemented by quartz and calcite into Navajo Sandstone.