Unknown Arch

[Jmr]

A little while back I visited Cathedral Point overlook in the Needles district of Canyonlands. While overlooking Salt Creek from the east side there is a fairly prominent arch located on east side of the canyon below the edge of the point. I think it might be Wedding Ring Arch but after some googling there seems to be more than one arch people call wedding ring arch or some have misidentified it?? Does anyone recognize this arch?

 

[Nick]

Might be more recognizable from a different angle. Got coordinates?

 

[Jmr]

Looks like I answered my own question.......
What I don't understand then is why do some people have this arch called wedding ring arch which is also located in Salt Creek? Is this arch simply an unnamed arch? seen this on a couple websites.

(not my picture)

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Locatio...e_Needles-Canyonlands_National_Park_Utah.html

 

[Jammer]

Your first pic is Wedding Ring Arch. That last pic is often called Wedding Ring Arch, but it's not. Even though it's the more impressive arch, I'm not sure it has a name. I usually call it "Not Wedding Ring Arch".

As to the why... I think it's just because as one hikes in Salt Creek it's not possible to see Wedding Ring Arch high above. Since it is marked on the topo, when this other arch becomes visible from the trail in the the same general area, it's an easy mistake to make. I would like to know the history and have often wondered if this was a mistake on the topo.

 

[IntrepidXJ]

http://www.naturalarches.org/span-9504-cover-Ring.htm

The Park Service refers to this arch as Wedding Ring Arch but there is another arch by that name in the vicinity and historically this one has been called Ring Arch.

 

[IntrepidXJ]

What I don't understand then is why do some people have this arch called wedding ring arch which is also located in Salt Creek?

Look at the Canyonlands National Park map and you will see why.

https://www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisit/upload/canymap.pdf

 

[Jmr]

Your first pic is Wedding Ring Arch. That last pic is often called Wedding Ring Arch, but it's not. Even though it's the more impressive arch, I'm not sure it has a name. I usually call it "Not Wedding Ring Arch".

As to the why... I think it's just because as one hikes in Salt Creek it's not possible to see Wedding Ring Arch high above. Since it is marked on the topo, when this other arch becomes visible from the trail in the the same general area, it's an easy mistake to make. I would like to know the history and have often wondered if this was a mistake on the topo.

That makes sense, I too also wonder about the history behind it.

http://www.naturalarches.org/span-9504-cover-Ring.htm

Interesting, thanks for sharing, so they have both been called wedding ring arch it seems.

Look at the Canyonlands National Park map and you will see why.

https://www.nps.gov/cany/planyourvisit/upload/canymap.pdf

That is definitely decieving, makes it look like it's right on the trail! very easy to see why people would confuse them.

 

[Jammer]

Very interesting -- I'd never noticed that on the NPS map.

Cool to see that shot of the arch from the backside too -- especially with the person on top! (back when it was legal it states.)

- JG

 

[Jammer]

This thread reminded me another arch confusion in upper Salt Creek:

I was once told, or read somewhere, that the arch that can be seen west of Kirk's Cabin is NOT Kirk Arch, but instead another nearby unnamed arch. This seems to be incorrect as the topo map and Google Image Search results indicate that it is.

Anybody have clarification on this or know of a second arch on the west side of Salt Creek in that area?

 

[IntrepidXJ]

I was hoping Steve Allen would have some info on this topic, so I looked it up and here is what it says:

"It was named by the cowboys for the round shape of the arch of rock."

Only one of those arches looks round and like a wedding ring, and it's not the one labeled Wedding Ring Arch on the Topo Map. I think the USGS messed up on this one.

@Jammer, this is what I found on Kirk Arch from the same source:

"Rensselaer Lee Kirk, Sr. (1859-1945) homesteaded below the arch in the late 1800s. The arch was rediscovered by Ross Musselman and his daughter in 1940. It was called Musselman Arch for many years. Canyonlands National Park Superintendent Bates Wilson and his son Tug renamed the arch in 1950 for Kirk.

In 1961 a National Geographic Society expedition visited the area and called it Corleissen Arch for Harly J. Corleissen, a former chairman of the Utah State Road Commission."