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 Evidence
of many different groups of people has been found in Arches
National Park. The Paleo-Indians lived as early as
10,000 BC to 7,000 BC on and around canyons of Arches
National Park. By circa 7,000 BC the climate was too
warm and dry for many large animals so the Paleo-Indians were forced to
adapt a life style call Archaic.
This meant that they had to live in small groups and travel
extensively. Rock art panels have
been found along the canyon walls of the Park. Those paintings are proof of early
hunter-gathers in Arches. By 1 AD,
Archaic culture gave way to prehistoric agriculturists called Ancestral
Puebloans; previously know as the Anasazi and Fremont. The Anasazi and Fremont were both
agricultural societies whose economies centered upon wild plants,
animals, and pottery. By circa
1200 AD, the Anasazi and Fremont left the area of the Park because of
poor farming capabilities. In
time, the Ute and Paiute Indians also came to inhabit the land. As far as European settlers and
explorers, no one really knows who was the first to set foot in the Arches
Park
area. Denis Julien, a lone
explorer, was probably on of the first European to see Arches. He left
his name and the date, June 09, 1844, inscribed on a rock fin in the
park. In 1888 the first family of
settlers chose to settle in Arches. John Wesley Wolfe and his son Fred
moved from Ohio.
 In the early 1920’s Alexander Ringhoffer, a
land prospector, traveled through much of the region of the Arches. He was very impressed by the sites and
landscape and thought that is should be seen by others. He suggested that
representatives of the Denver
and Rio Grande Western Railroad visit the area. Frank Wadleigh, the
D&RGW's passenger traffic manager, was so impressed that they
contacted Stephen T. Mather, the first director of the National Park
Service. Mather was intrigued by the area and pushed for the creation of
a national monument. Finally in 1929, President Herbert C. Hoover set
aside Arches as a National Monument. Through the years the monument's
size was modified by succeeding presidents: enlarged by Franklin Roosevelt,
diminished a bit by Dwight Eisenhower, then doubled by Lyndon Johnson. At
last, President Richard Nixon signed into law in 1971, an act
establishing Arches as a national park.
 Arches is located in a "high desert," with
elevations ranging from 4,085 to 5,653 feet above sea level. The climate
is one of very hot summers, cold winters and very little rainfall. Even
on a daily basis, temperatures may fluctuate as much as 50 degrees. Water
and ice, extreme temperatures and underground salt movement are
responsible for the sculptured rock scenery of Arches
National Park. The more than 2,000 cataloged arches
range in size from a three-foot opening; the minimum considered an arch,
to the longest one, Landscape Arch, which measures 306 feet from base to
base. The Park sits on top of an
underground which is responsible for the arches and spires, balanced
rocks, sandstone fins and eroded monoliths. Also cryptogamic soil is becoming a
popular observation of the region. This dark crust covers much of the untrampled
desert. Composed of cyanobacteria as well as lichen, algae and fungi,
this covering protects against erosion, absorbs moisture provided
nitrogen and other nutrients for plant growth.
from http://www.arches.national-park.com/info.htm#esta
by Lucas Jones
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