Natural Bridges National Monument
Natural Bridges, Utah

Natural Bridges National Monument protects some of the finest examples of ancient natural stone architecture in the southwest. The monument is located in southeast Utah on a pinon-juniper covered mesa bisected by deep canyons of Permian age Cedar Mesa Sandstone. Where meandering streams cut through the canyon walls, three natural bridges formed: Kachina, Owachomo and Sipapu.

At an elevation of 6,500 feet above sea level, the Monument is home to a wide variety of plants and animals.

Owachomo Bridge

These formations are not as delicate as the ones at Arches National Park. They are also water-carved in Cedar Mesa Sandstone rather than wind-carved in Entrada Sandstone.

The Horsecollar Ruin Site is a major attraction at Natural Bridges, and one of the best-preserved ancestral Puebloan sites in the area. Named because the doorways to two structures resemble horsecollars, the site was abandoned more than 700 years ago. Its remarkable state of preservation, including an undisturbed kiva with the original roof and interior, is likely due to the isolation of Natural Bridges: few visitors ever made the journey down these canyons.