Rattlesnake+Arches 3A

Rattlesnake Arches When you look over the rattlesnake arches you will see large natural arches, filled with soft rock that has sat there year after year, that formed the rattlesnake arches! And sit there for people to stop and look at the rattlesnake arches. You may knowtice Rattlesnake Arches is an amazing14 miles long from one side to another! Having an elevation of 1,520 feet, the climate is very dry and hot.  Deep among the many land forms of the Colorado national monument, is nestled a prehistoric gem called Rattle Snake Arches. The cliffs and arches are made of entrada sandstone, a sedimentary rock formed from small grains of sand packed and molded together by the pressure of layers and small amounts of heat. The time period of the entrada sandstone dates back to the Jurassic period, 180 million years ago. With the help of the four elements, wind, water, and gravity, sand and sediment is blown into canyons and river beds which with time, heat, weather, and the four constructive forces, new sedimentary rocks are created…

The arches have been carved by erosion in the rim of sandstone atop the red and tan walls of the Rattlesnake canyon. Arches narrow because of erosion. When rain and water fall, it slides down the shale coming to the Entrada sandstone breaking it down to form a cave getting deeper and deeper. From then, some of the shale falls from nothing to hold it up, still leaving some in place. Then forming an arch. The four agents of erosion, wind, water, and gravity, erode the rattlesnake arches over time. From solid rock to the arches, each taking a month to a year, they were each formed with erosion and weathering. The watererodes the softer areas of the Entrada sandstone making natural arches. 