And comes from the DVD
series, "Awesome Science"
00:00:04.43\00:00:09.27
NOAH JUSTICE: In eastern Utah,
in the Colorado River Basin,
00:00:10.31\00:00:13.84
is a national
park and a monument,
00:00:13.94\00:00:16.41
both with very
unique but similar features.
00:00:16.51\00:00:19.71
Arches National Park
has over 2,000 arches
00:00:19.81\00:00:23.05
formed in sandstone.
00:00:23.15\00:00:24.92
The arches range in size
from very large to super small.
00:00:25.02\00:00:29.42
Some scientists
say that these arches
00:00:29.52\00:00:31.83
formed over millions of years.
00:00:31.93\00:00:34.10
But at the rate
they are eroding away,
00:00:34.20\00:00:36.30
this long time
period would be improbable.
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Then, just south of arches,
is Natural Bridges National
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Monument where
three massive rock ridges
00:00:43.47\00:00:46.07
are found in White Canyon.
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They are some of the largest
natural bridges in the world.
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Yet, there is no river
that runs through this canyon.
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Flash floods are supposed
to be the erosion agent.
00:00:55.95\00:00:59.45
But again, the
time frame that they
00:00:59.55\00:01:01.56
used to determine the ages
of these awesome natural bridges
00:01:01.66\00:01:05.73
doesn't match
the rate of erosion.
00:01:05.83\00:01:07.66
Some other mechanism with faster
erosion rates was at work.
00:01:07.76\00:01:12.20
In addition, at the
bottom of one of these bridges
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is a mysterious figure
drawn by ancient settlers which
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gives hints of early animals
in the southwest, specifically
00:01:18.54\00:01:22.78
what looks like a
sauropod dinosaur.
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Let's explore
these parks and find out
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how the Bible gives us hints
about their formation and age.
00:01:27.95\00:01:32.62
All this and more,
next on "Awesome Science."
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"Awesome Science"
takes you on a field trip
00:01:41.06\00:01:43.90
to some of the most amazing
geologic and historic sites
00:01:44.00\00:01:47.54
around the world, where we
used the Bible as our history
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guidebook to interpret what we
see, that Bible can be trusted,
00:01:51.21\00:01:55.28
and empirical
science falls in line
00:01:55.38\00:01:57.41
with the biblical
account of creation,
00:01:57.51\00:01:59.45
the fall, and the flood.
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Science, it's awesome.
00:02:02.32\00:02:04.09
[music playing]
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In the southwest
part of the United States,
00:02:15.26\00:02:17.67
on the border of
Utah and Colorado,
00:02:17.77\00:02:20.10
is one of the most amazing
and unique national parks
00:02:20.20\00:02:23.91
in the country.
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Sitting on
almost 80,000 acres, it
00:02:25.44\00:02:28.48
is the largest concentration of
natural bridges in the country,
00:02:28.58\00:02:32.41
containing more than 2,000
of these fascinating geologic
00:02:32.51\00:02:36.12
formations.
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Over 43 arches have
collapsed since 1977.
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So the number of
arches is decreasing.
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In addition to the
arches are incredible
00:02:45.39\00:02:47.73
balanced rocks,
spires, pinnacles,
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and slick rock domes.
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More than 700,000
visitors cruise the roads
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in the park each
year with plenty of stops
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for viewing and hiking.
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The park sits between 4,000
and 5,600 feet above sea level
00:03:01.08\00:03:05.51
near Moab, Utah.
00:03:05.61\00:03:07.82
The arches are
thought to have been
00:03:07.92\00:03:09.62
the result of water erosion.
00:03:09.72\00:03:11.82
But the nearest sea is more than
700 miles away and a mile lower
00:03:11.92\00:03:16.29
in elevation.
00:03:16.39\00:03:18.19
The park receives an average
of 10 inches of rain a year.
00:03:18.29\00:03:22.26
But scientific
research has shown
00:03:22.36\00:03:24.17
this area received a lot
more precipitation in the past.
00:03:24.27\00:03:28.37
These facts give us
hints as to what processes
00:03:28.47\00:03:31.44
might have been
involved in creating
00:03:31.54\00:03:33.41
these amazing formations.
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[music playing]
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Signs around the park present
a prehistoric past millions
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of years old, based on the
theories of geologic evolution
00:03:43.75\00:03:47.49
and naturalism.
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The rich history of
petroglyphs and pictographs
00:03:49.49\00:03:52.13
on the rocks in
the park is evidence
00:03:52.23\00:03:54.36
that humans lived here since the
ice age about 4,000 years ago.
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Petroglyphs are motifs that
are pecked, ground, incised,
00:03:59.30\00:04:03.57
abraded, or
scratched on the rock surface.
00:04:03.67\00:04:07.04
Pictographs are
paintings or drawings
00:04:07.14\00:04:09.58
in one or more colors
using mineral pigments and plant
00:04:09.68\00:04:12.75
dyes on the rocks surface.
00:04:12.85\00:04:15.12
From the discovery of
ancient dwellings in the park,
00:04:15.22\00:04:18.12
it is thought that the Fremont
and Anasazi people lived here
00:04:18.22\00:04:21.66
as recently as 700 years ago.
00:04:21.76\00:04:24.76
The arches area
became more well-known
00:04:24.86\00:04:27.13
when a railroad
manager and a photographer
00:04:27.23\00:04:29.50
visited the area in 1923 to
scout it for a possible tourist
00:04:29.60\00:04:34.27
destination.
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Their research provided
outsiders with a glimpse
00:04:36.04\00:04:39.17
to an amazing
geologic wonderland.
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In just a few
years, the Park Service
00:04:42.58\00:04:44.81
got involved and considered
making it a national monument.
00:04:44.91\00:04:48.95
Initially,
President Calvin Coolidge
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was resistant to the idea.
00:04:51.02\00:04:53.05
So in 1929, the newly
elected President Herbert Hoover
00:04:53.15\00:04:57.49
was presented with the idea.
00:04:57.59\00:04:59.83
He quickly
signed the proclamation
00:04:59.93\00:05:01.83
for making this area a national
monument, reserving 1,920 acres
00:05:01.93\00:05:07.84
in the Windows area and 2,600
acres in the Devil's Garden
00:05:07.94\00:05:12.17
area.
00:05:12.27\00:05:13.41
The idea behind
the national monument
00:05:13.51\00:05:15.74
was to protect
the arches, spires,
00:05:15.84\00:05:18.28
and other formations for
scientific and educational
00:05:18.38\00:05:21.98
value.
00:05:22.08\00:05:23.18
Over the years,
various presidents
00:05:23.28\00:05:25.25
such as Roosevelt,
Eisenhower, and Johnson
00:05:25.35\00:05:28.22
signed additional proclamations
to enlarge the park.
00:05:28.32\00:05:32.09
Eventually, it became
the size we see today--
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almost 80,000 acres.
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[music playing]
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There are more than 2,000 arches
in the park, mainly contained
00:05:42.47\00:05:46.31
in the Entrada Sandstone
and the Navajo Sandstone layers.
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As we begin to
study these formations,
00:05:50.61\00:05:52.81
a good question to ask is
what makes an arch an arch?
00:05:52.91\00:05:58.25
First of all, the
opening must measure
00:05:58.35\00:06:00.29
at least three feet across.
00:06:00.39\00:06:01.96
But the height can vary.
00:06:02.06\00:06:03.93
Secondly, the arch
can stand independently
00:06:04.03\00:06:06.80
or be a part of a rock system.
00:06:06.90\00:06:09.20
On the other
hand, natural bridges
00:06:09.30\00:06:11.20
tend to be at the
bottoms of canyons.
00:06:11.30\00:06:14.17
The largest in the park is
Landscape Arch, spanning over
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306 feet.
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It's longer than a football
field from base to base.
00:06:20.11\00:06:23.31
But it is not
the world's largest.
00:06:23.41\00:06:26.01
The Fairy Bridge in
China measures over 400 feet
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in length and 121 feet high.
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Most of the
world's largest arches
00:06:33.05\00:06:35.06
are in Utah, with a few
others in Africa and China.
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According to naturalist, new
arches are constantly forming.
00:06:39.49\00:06:43.53
But no one has ever
actually seen an arch form.
00:06:43.63\00:06:48.04
What we do see are many
arches occasionally collapsing
00:06:48.14\00:06:51.44
over the past few decades.
00:06:51.54\00:06:53.84
Most recently, the
Wall Arch collapsed in 2008.
00:06:53.94\00:06:58.31
According to the
Natural Arch and Bridge Society,
00:06:58.41\00:07:01.22
there are five
observable attributes that
00:07:01.32\00:07:03.49
are used to classify arches.
00:07:03.59\00:07:06.35
The first is contextual,
which takes into consideration
00:07:06.45\00:07:09.69
the aspects of the surroundings
in which the natural arch
00:07:09.79\00:07:12.83
occurs.
00:07:12.93\00:07:14.00
This could be desert or
jungle, coastal or inland.
00:07:14.10\00:07:18.40
The second
observation, called morphologic,
00:07:18.50\00:07:21.34
takes into account the
general shape and orientation
00:07:21.44\00:07:24.37
of various parts
of the natural arch.
00:07:24.47\00:07:26.84
What is the angle of the arch?
00:07:26.94\00:07:29.04
Is it more straight or curved?
00:07:29.14\00:07:32.05
How thick and wide is it?
00:07:32.15\00:07:34.82
Third, the metrics
of the arch, meaning
00:07:34.92\00:07:37.49
what is the size of various
parts of the natural arch?
00:07:37.59\00:07:41.36
This would
involve different numbers
00:07:41.46\00:07:43.29
of thickness and angles.
00:07:43.39\00:07:45.96
Fourth, one must consider
the geologic observations
00:07:46.06\00:07:49.40
such as the types of rocks
and/or the geologic formation
00:07:49.50\00:07:53.54
the natural arch occurs in.
00:07:53.64\00:07:55.84
Finally, there is the
anthropomorphic classification.
00:07:55.94\00:07:59.64
This takes into account
the perceived relationship
00:07:59.74\00:08:02.38
between the
natural arch and man.
00:08:02.48\00:08:05.21
For instance, have humans
called the arch a natural window
00:08:05.31\00:08:08.62
or natural tunnel?
00:08:08.72\00:08:10.59
Most of the time,
this attribute requires
00:08:10.69\00:08:13.25
the subjective
judgment of the observer
00:08:13.36\00:08:15.69
and can mean different
things to different people.
00:08:15.79\00:08:18.59
[music playing]
00:08:18.69\00:08:21.56
When coming to Arches,
the main entrance for the park
00:08:23.13\00:08:26.10
is on the south
side, near Moab, Utah.
00:08:26.20\00:08:29.77
After climbing in
elevation, you quickly
00:08:29.87\00:08:32.14
come to the Courthouse Towers.
00:08:32.24\00:08:34.14
This includes Sheep
Rock, Three Gossips, the Organ,
00:08:34.24\00:08:37.81
and the Tower of Babel.
00:08:37.91\00:08:39.95
These incredible steep cliffs
of sandstone showcase erosional
00:08:40.05\00:08:44.09
remnants that remind
you of Monument Valley
00:08:44.19\00:08:46.59
further to the south.
00:08:46.69\00:08:48.72
As you make your
way north, you travel
00:08:48.82\00:08:50.79
through the petrified dunes
on your right and the Great Wall
00:08:50.89\00:08:54.03
to your left.
00:08:54.13\00:08:55.56
Just about everywhere
you go on the main road
00:08:55.66\00:08:58.57
holds amazing views.
00:08:58.67\00:09:00.54
There are plenty of pull
outs for you to park and hike
00:09:00.64\00:09:03.47
around the formations.
00:09:03.57\00:09:05.71
Further north are amazing spires
with single rocks balanced
00:09:05.81\00:09:09.58
on the top.
00:09:09.68\00:09:10.85
Side roads lead to some
of the more famous locations
00:09:10.95\00:09:13.72
in the park, including
Double Arch and Delicate Arch.
00:09:13.82\00:09:18.42
Near the north
part of the park, you
00:09:18.52\00:09:20.26
enter through an
incredible formation of rocks
00:09:20.36\00:09:22.92
called the Fiery Furnace.
00:09:23.02\00:09:25.53
Over the years,
water and wind erosion
00:09:25.63\00:09:27.86
have worn down the
sandstone into a huge collection
00:09:27.96\00:09:31.13
of spires and fins.
00:09:31.23\00:09:33.80
Finally, the road
ends at the Devil's Garden,
00:09:33.90\00:09:36.60
where an easy trail
guides you through fins
00:09:36.71\00:09:38.97
of rock and plenty of arches.
00:09:39.07\00:09:41.71
[music playing]
00:09:41.81\00:09:44.41
There's debate among
scientists how these arches were
00:09:45.85\00:09:48.02
formed-- by wind or by water?
00:09:48.12\00:09:50.25
But what does the
evidence really show?
00:09:50.35\00:09:53.39
Secular scientists
claim 300 million years ago
00:09:53.49\00:09:56.96
an inland sea covered
this area 29 different times,
00:09:57.06\00:10:00.83
leaving behind salt
beds thousands of feet thick.
00:10:00.93\00:10:04.40
They say that 150 million years
ago, the soft, red sandstone
00:10:04.50\00:10:08.87
was deposited.
00:10:08.97\00:10:10.14
Sand and boulders were
carried down by streams and wind
00:10:10.24\00:10:13.51
from the uplands, eventually
covering the salt beds.
00:10:13.61\00:10:17.18
There is evidence
that rock over a mile
00:10:17.28\00:10:19.71
thick has been
eroded from above this area.
00:10:19.81\00:10:22.88
What's left is revealed in
these amazing rock formations
00:10:22.98\00:10:26.69
that we see today.
00:10:26.79\00:10:28.66
Because the salt
layers underneath
00:10:28.76\00:10:30.63
are less dense than the
overlying blanket of rock
00:10:30.73\00:10:33.33
pressing down on it,
parts of the salt layers
00:10:33.43\00:10:36.00
have been squeezed up, arching
upwards through the overlying
00:10:36.10\00:10:39.43
layers, forming into domes and
ridges with valleys in between.
00:10:39.53\00:10:44.51
Eventually,
ground water supposedly
00:10:44.61\00:10:46.78
wore away many of
the salt deposits.
00:10:46.88\00:10:49.98
The sandstone
collapsed and weathered
00:10:50.08\00:10:52.11
into a maze of
vertical rock slabs called fins.
00:10:52.21\00:10:56.48
Wind and water
attacked these fins
00:10:56.58\00:10:58.79
until, in some,
the cementing material
00:10:58.89\00:11:01.52
gave way and chunks
of rock tumbled out.
00:11:01.62\00:11:04.89
Many damaged fins collapsed.
00:11:04.99\00:11:07.30
Others with the right
degree of hardness and balance
00:11:07.40\00:11:10.27
survived, despite
their missing sections.
00:11:10.37\00:11:13.10
These became the famous arches.
00:11:13.20\00:11:16.24
Most
freestanding rock arches are
00:11:16.34\00:11:18.41
believed to have
formed without stream erosion.
00:11:18.51\00:11:21.28
A natural bridge is
classified as spanning a valley.
00:11:21.38\00:11:24.91
An arch just spans
ridges or the sides of a ridge.
00:11:25.01\00:11:29.02
Secular
Geologists have estimated
00:11:29.12\00:11:31.19
it took about 70,000
years of water, frost,
00:11:31.29\00:11:34.99
and wind,
operating in a dry climate,
00:11:35.09\00:11:37.66
to form isolated
Delicate Arch in the park.
00:11:37.76\00:11:41.43
It's a good thing that
earthquakes are rare here.
00:11:41.53\00:11:44.40
Because otherwise,
these massive rock sculptures
00:11:44.50\00:11:47.47
would splinter and collapse.
00:11:47.57\00:11:49.44
[music playing]
00:11:49.54\00:11:52.27
The origin of
freestanding arches
00:11:53.81\00:11:55.78
is a mystery to naturalists when
they use their uniformitarian
00:11:55.88\00:11:59.65
principle to
interpret the evidence.
00:11:59.75\00:12:02.78
This principle says that current
observable processes have
00:12:02.88\00:12:06.29
gone on for millions
of years and can explain
00:12:06.39\00:12:09.36
everything we see in nature.
00:12:09.46\00:12:11.63
They often deny or ignore
quick catastrophic processes
00:12:11.73\00:12:15.53
for geologic formations.
00:12:15.63\00:12:17.97
But if we use
current erosion rates,
00:12:18.07\00:12:20.50
these arches should
have weathered and collapsed
00:12:20.60\00:12:23.34
long ago.
00:12:23.44\00:12:24.71
In other words,
these arches are collapsing
00:12:24.81\00:12:27.21
at a much greater rate
than they supposedly formed.
00:12:27.31\00:12:30.98
What's even more of a
challenge to the secular idea
00:12:31.08\00:12:34.08
is that we don't see
any arches forming today.
00:12:34.18\00:12:37.19
They are only destroyed.
00:12:37.29\00:12:40.02
In fact, in August
2008, the 12th largest arch
00:12:40.12\00:12:43.76
in the park,
Wall Arch, collapsed.
00:12:43.86\00:12:46.23
And more continued to
be threatened by collapse.
00:12:46.33\00:12:49.76
So how can so
many arches be here
00:12:49.86\00:12:52.73
if there are
millions of years old?
00:12:52.83\00:12:54.97
At the current rate, most would
have disappeared not long ago.
00:12:55.07\00:12:59.61
The millions of years is
just an imaginary number based
00:12:59.71\00:13:03.41
on naturalism, not solid facts.
00:13:03.51\00:13:06.28
The long processes that
should have formed these arches
00:13:06.38\00:13:09.35
would have been
beaten by rates of erosion.
00:13:09.45\00:13:12.25
These amazingly
beautiful freestanding arches
00:13:12.35\00:13:15.36
seem to be a relic of
past geologic processes,
00:13:15.46\00:13:19.09
a process that formed
them by some mechanism using
00:13:19.19\00:13:22.36
quick erosion.
00:13:22.46\00:13:24.43
Is there any
event in the past that
00:13:24.53\00:13:26.37
matches this type of process?
00:13:26.47\00:13:28.27
[music playing]
00:13:28.37\00:13:31.07
The Bible tells
us that by day 150,
00:13:32.61\00:13:35.64
the entire Earth
was covered in water.
00:13:35.74\00:13:38.65
Huge shifts in the crust
and massive sedimentary layers
00:13:38.75\00:13:42.48
made life below the
waters incredibly catastrophic.
00:13:42.58\00:13:46.99
Hot, salty, volcanic waters
gushed from inside the Earth.
00:13:47.09\00:13:51.59
On contact with the
cooler surging flood waters,
00:13:51.69\00:13:54.50
the salts rapidly
fell out of solution.
00:13:54.60\00:13:57.67
So the massive
layers of salt and sandstone
00:13:57.77\00:14:01.04
were laid down
in a matter of days
00:14:01.14\00:14:03.27
over large swaths of
land, some layers spanning
00:14:03.37\00:14:06.68
entire continents.
00:14:06.78\00:14:09.01
As the mountains rose after day
150, very large sheets of water
00:14:09.11\00:14:13.65
began to run
across the landscape,
00:14:13.75\00:14:15.82
eroding entire
sheets of sediments.
00:14:15.92\00:14:19.12
Even secular scientists
agree that the arches area
00:14:19.22\00:14:22.22
was covered by
thousands of feet of sediment
00:14:22.32\00:14:24.89
at some point in the
past then eroded away
00:14:24.99\00:14:28.83
throughout the
Colorado River basin.
00:14:28.93\00:14:31.90
As the water flow lessened
toward the end of the flood,
00:14:32.00\00:14:35.07
it started
channelising and landscaping,
00:14:35.17\00:14:37.77
cutting away even more
of the softer sediments.
00:14:37.87\00:14:41.51
One theory is that
this channelising phase
00:14:41.61\00:14:44.31
could have helped cut some
of the arches, similar to how
00:14:44.41\00:14:47.15
natural bridges are formed.
00:14:47.25\00:14:49.22
But this isn't the only
idea proposed by scientists.
00:14:49.32\00:14:53.46
The fact that bridges and
arches are not forming today,
00:14:53.56\00:14:56.79
but have formed at a
high rate in the past,
00:14:56.89\00:14:59.73
would give good
motivation for believing
00:14:59.83\00:15:01.90
in catastrophic processes
such as the global flood
00:15:02.00\00:15:05.23
as described in the Bible.
00:15:05.33\00:15:07.17
This program is
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00:15:07.67\00:15:10.31
An organization committed
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00:15:11.91\00:15:15.08
science-focused
television content
00:15:15.08\00:15:17.28
all from a Biblical worldview.
00:15:17.28\00:15:19.45
Awesome Science is our kids
series hosted by Noah Justice
00:15:19.45\00:15:23.42
In every episode, Noah
visits the national parks
00:15:23.42\00:15:26.35
and historical sites
to help you understand
00:15:26.35\00:15:29.16
earth's history
using a Biblical worldview.
00:15:29.16\00:15:32.33
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00:15:35.33\00:15:41.00
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00:15:47.38\00:15:52.08
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We hope you enjoy our great
00:15:52.08\00:15:56.28
content. A recent lab experiment
at Charles University in Prague
00:15:57.99\00:16:01.39
might also give
clues for another model
00:16:01.49\00:16:03.56
of how the arches formed.
00:16:03.66\00:16:06.23
In this experiment, scientists
submerged a piece of sandstone
00:16:06.33\00:16:09.56
in water.
00:16:09.66\00:16:10.83
A weight was put on
top of the sandstone.
00:16:10.93\00:16:13.13
Then a funny thing happened.
00:16:13.23\00:16:15.54
The water began to
erode the softer parts
00:16:15.64\00:16:17.81
of the submerged sandstone.
00:16:17.91\00:16:19.57
But the harder
parts of the sandstone
00:16:19.67\00:16:21.28
stayed, causing an
underwater arch to form.
00:16:21.38\00:16:24.68
This experiment would fit
well with the flood model.
00:16:24.78\00:16:28.68
During the first
150 days of the flood,
00:16:28.78\00:16:31.82
water would have laid
down the sandstones quickly.
00:16:31.92\00:16:34.59
They would have
been saturated with water
00:16:34.69\00:16:36.73
while additional
sediments were deposited
00:16:36.83\00:16:38.93
on top of the sandstone.
00:16:39.03\00:16:41.13
In this model,
arches would have formed
00:16:41.23\00:16:43.37
in these sediment layers.
00:16:43.47\00:16:45.43
As the flood waters
receded, massive sheet erosion
00:16:45.53\00:16:48.44
would have taken
off the top layers
00:16:48.54\00:16:50.14
and some of the sandstone
underneath, leaving the arches.
00:16:50.24\00:16:54.48
Because of natural erosion
over the past 4,000 years,
00:16:54.58\00:16:58.45
the arches would have naturally
become smaller and fewer,
00:16:58.55\00:17:01.82
leaving only the 2,000
that we find in the park today.
00:17:01.92\00:17:05.85
When we use a catastrophic
model to build arches,
00:17:05.95\00:17:09.06
the observations make a
lot more sense, rather than
00:17:09.16\00:17:12.39
the slow and gradual processes
proposed by naturalists.
00:17:12.49\00:17:16.63
Arches National Park, a great
testament to the global flood.
00:17:16.73\00:17:21.34
Even though it was
a global destruction,
00:17:21.44\00:17:23.87
God left some pretty
great formations for us
00:17:23.97\00:17:26.94
to admire today.
00:17:27.04\00:17:29.21
Science, it's awesome.
00:17:29.31\00:17:31.55
[music playing]
00:17:31.65\00:17:34.38
In the southwest corner
of Utah, just 120 miles south
00:17:35.92\00:17:40.19
of Arches National
Park, is another peculiar site
00:17:40.29\00:17:43.66
where water erosion has
made some fascinating features
00:17:43.76\00:17:47.03
in White Canyon, also known
as Natural Bridges National
00:17:47.13\00:17:50.97
Monument.
00:17:51.07\00:17:52.30
The features at
Natural Bridges are primarily
00:17:52.40\00:17:55.24
different than that at Arches
in that they form in a canyon,
00:17:55.34\00:17:58.87
rather than on a plane.
00:17:58.97\00:18:00.94
Even though they
are different, it
00:18:01.04\00:18:02.61
is believed that
water erosion was also
00:18:02.71\00:18:05.18
the cause of these formations.
00:18:05.28\00:18:07.78
The monument contains
three large natural bridges
00:18:07.88\00:18:11.42
and has the seventh largest
natural bridge in the world.
00:18:11.52\00:18:16.19
The three bridges
are the Sipapu, Kachina,
00:18:16.29\00:18:19.26
and Owachomo, all of
which are Hopi Indian names.
00:18:19.36\00:18:23.60
Inside the
monument, ancient Indians
00:18:23.70\00:18:26.13
left evidence
for their residence.
00:18:26.23\00:18:28.54
Just like it Mesa Verde,
cliff dwellings and petroglyphs
00:18:28.64\00:18:31.84
dot the canyon walls.
00:18:31.94\00:18:34.08
One particular etching has
drawn international attention
00:18:34.18\00:18:37.78
because it looks a lot
like a sauropod dinosaur.
00:18:37.88\00:18:41.62
The natural
bridges range in height
00:18:41.72\00:18:43.92
from 106 feet to 220,
with spans as long as 268 feet.
00:18:44.02\00:18:51.53
There's no permanent
river here carving this canyon.
00:18:51.63\00:18:54.36
There's only periodic flash
floods, something much bigger
00:18:54.46\00:18:57.67
must have carved these bridges.
00:18:57.77\00:18:59.60
[music playing]
00:18:59.70\00:19:02.44
The earliest documented
exploration of this canyon
00:19:03.94\00:19:07.11
happened in 1893.
00:19:07.21\00:19:09.71
Cass Hite was on a
gold prospecting hunt
00:19:09.81\00:19:12.21
close to his camp
on the Colorado River.
00:19:12.31\00:19:14.92
He took word back
to the towns and cities
00:19:15.02\00:19:17.49
about this amazing landscape.
00:19:17.59\00:19:20.69
Then in 1904, the
National Geographic magazine
00:19:20.79\00:19:24.39
publicized the natural bridges.
00:19:24.49\00:19:27.30
Just four years later,
President Theodore Roosevelt
00:19:27.40\00:19:30.67
designated it as
a national monument.
00:19:30.77\00:19:33.40
In fact, it was Utah's
first national monument.
00:19:33.50\00:19:37.64
But actually, Cass was not the
first to discover this canyon.
00:19:37.74\00:19:42.11
It is thought by anthropologists
that the Anasazi Indians
00:19:42.21\00:19:45.58
occupied this area
between 500 BC and 1270 AD,
00:19:45.68\00:19:50.82
similar to the time period of
their occupation at Mesa Verde.
00:19:50.92\00:19:55.29
The earliest inhabitants
probably lived in pit houses
00:19:55.39\00:19:59.06
on the mesa tops,
while the later Anasazi
00:19:59.16\00:20:01.93
built cliff dwellings
that can still be seen today.
00:20:02.03\00:20:05.80
For decades, the valley was
only accessible by horseback--
00:20:05.90\00:20:09.60
a three day ride from
the nearest settlement.
00:20:09.70\00:20:13.01
Then in the
1950s, the uranium boom
00:20:13.11\00:20:16.31
resulted in the creation
of new roads into the area.
00:20:16.41\00:20:19.91
And eventually, a state
highway was paved in 1976.
00:20:20.02\00:20:24.99
Today, thousands of
people visit it every year
00:20:25.09\00:20:28.36
to enjoy the amazing views,
challenging hiking trails,
00:20:28.46\00:20:32.16
and to study the
Native American art.
00:20:32.26\00:20:35.50
[music playing]
00:20:35.60\00:20:38.23
After you pass
the visitor's center
00:20:39.70\00:20:41.40
on the east side of the park,
you enter the nine-mile bridge
00:20:41.50\00:20:45.21
view drive loop.
00:20:45.31\00:20:47.21
The first natural
bridge you come to
00:20:47.31\00:20:49.48
is Sipapu bridge, the
fourth largest in the world
00:20:49.58\00:20:53.58
at 220 feet high
and 268 feet wide.
00:20:53.68\00:20:58.99
It's so big, the
opening would almost
00:20:59.09\00:21:01.56
house the dome of the
United States Capitol Building.
00:21:01.66\00:21:05.43
Only three natural bridges
in China have larger spans.
00:21:05.53\00:21:09.90
Trail heads at the parking
lot allow you to hike down
00:21:10.00\00:21:12.93
underneath each bridge.
00:21:13.03\00:21:15.24
The trails are
rated medium to difficult,
00:21:15.34\00:21:17.87
so use caution when hiking.
00:21:17.97\00:21:20.64
The next natural
bridge you come to is Kachina.
00:21:20.74\00:21:24.08
It spans the canyon equidistant
from both the Owachomo
00:21:24.18\00:21:28.25
and Sipapu bridges.
00:21:28.35\00:21:30.59
It's larger than the Owachomo,
but smaller than the Sipapu,
00:21:30.69\00:21:34.02
showing that canyons are
dynamic rather than static.
00:21:34.12\00:21:38.49
In June 1992, approximately
4,000 tons of sandstone
00:21:38.59\00:21:43.63
fell from the
inside of Kachina Bridge.
00:21:43.73\00:21:47.00
It enlarged the
opening even more,
00:21:47.10\00:21:49.37
as it has doubtless been
enlarged time and time again.
00:21:49.47\00:21:53.48
Government
surveyor William Douglas
00:21:53.58\00:21:55.74
dubbed the bridge Kachina
when he found petroglyphs
00:21:55.84\00:21:58.61
and pictographs
depicting dancing figures carved
00:21:58.71\00:22:01.68
on the base of the bridge.
00:22:01.78\00:22:03.89
Douglas assumed the
ancestral Puebloan people
00:22:03.99\00:22:07.02
who left the ancient
rock art were related
00:22:07.12\00:22:09.66
to the present-day Hopi people
and the painted and carved
00:22:09.76\00:22:12.83
figures
represented Kachina dancers.
00:22:12.93\00:22:16.30
Kachina Bridge is thought
to be the youngest of the three
00:22:16.40\00:22:19.67
and unlike the others, is
situated along the watercourse
00:22:19.77\00:22:22.87
of the canyon.
00:22:22.97\00:22:24.34
Kachina is more difficult
to spot from the highway
00:22:24.44\00:22:27.24
and requires the
longest walk to reach it.
00:22:27.34\00:22:30.45
Finally, the last
natural bridge is Owachomo.
00:22:30.55\00:22:34.42
Owachomo is the
smallest and thinnest
00:22:34.52\00:22:37.05
of the three natural bridges.
00:22:37.15\00:22:39.32
It is commonly
thought to be the oldest.
00:22:39.42\00:22:41.59
But in reality, age between
the three is hard to tell.
00:22:41.69\00:22:46.29
Regardless of
its relative age, it
00:22:46.39\00:22:48.46
is certainly the most fragile
and elegant of the three spans,
00:22:48.56\00:22:52.33
with only nine feet
of thickness at the top.
00:22:52.43\00:22:55.60
It is an awe-inspiring
feature of erosion.
00:22:55.70\00:22:59.57
Owachomo means
"round mound" in Hopi,
00:22:59.67\00:23:02.84
being named after
the rock formation
00:23:02.94\00:23:04.88
on top of the
east end of the bridge.
00:23:04.98\00:23:07.75
Before William Douglas
gave it this name in 1908,
00:23:07.85\00:23:11.52
it was called
Edwin or Little Bridge.
00:23:11.62\00:23:15.16
The park has also become known
as one of the world's least
00:23:15.26\00:23:18.56
light-polluted night skies.
00:23:18.66\00:23:21.06
The International
Dark Sky Association
00:23:21.16\00:23:23.53
named Natural Bridges the
world's first International
00:23:23.63\00:23:26.87
Dark Sky Park.
00:23:26.97\00:23:29.24
Even though it's a bit out of
the way of most tourist spots,
00:23:29.34\00:23:32.61
Natural Bridges
National Monument
00:23:32.71\00:23:34.58
is a must see, especially
if you feel up to hike.
00:23:34.68\00:23:37.98
Standing beneath these bridges
is truly an awesome sight.
00:23:38.08\00:23:42.15
[music playing]
00:23:42.25\00:23:44.95
Much of this area in
Utah and the Four Corners
00:23:46.86\00:23:49.89
region of the
United States is made up
00:23:49.99\00:23:52.19
of sedimentary
layers of sandstone.
00:23:52.29\00:23:54.93
Just to the
southwest of Natural Bridges
00:23:55.03\00:23:57.43
is the Grand Canyon,
were some catastrophic event
00:23:57.53\00:24:00.74
This whole region is part of the
Grand Staircase, a 10,000 foot
00:24:05.21\00:24:09.91
sequence of strata that has
been revealed through erosion.
00:24:10.01\00:24:14.42
These sandstone layers are known
to cover entire continents,
00:24:14.52\00:24:17.12
Awesome Science is a
video series produced by
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00:24:38.77\00:24:40.01
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We're making a difference
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00:24:51.75\00:24:55.19
evolutionary worldview, which
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00:24:55.29\00:24:59.69
Our mission is to provide
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00:24:59.69\00:25:03.30
based on solid scientific
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00:25:03.30\00:25:06.67
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00:25:16.28\00:25:18.68
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00:25:22.02\00:25:25.12
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00:25:26.39\00:25:29.49
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00:25:29.59\00:25:33.13
You'll be inspired that
the biblical record is real.
00:25:33.23\00:25:37.23
Until next time,
remember science, it's awesome.
00:25:37.33\00:25:40.50
[music playing]
00:25:40.60\00:25:43.57