Arches National Park

At the Fiery Furnace parking lot at the foot of a chaotic jumble of weird-shaped rocks, spires and pinnacles, a National Park sign cautions: We have this problem. People get lost down there in the Fiery Furnace. There is no trail. So, we put up a sign 'Do Not Enter!' They enter anyway. Join a ranger-led nature walk. Don't get lost in the Fiery Furnace. Arches National Park, 114 square miles in southeastern Utah, has the greatest concentration of natural stone arches on earth.

Charlie Kulander visited Arches National Park in southeastern Utah in December 2010, hoping to photograph Delicate Arch. "There was only one other photographer here at the time, a man from Germany who was utterly speechless at the unfolding spectacle we were witnessing," said Kulander. "We were blessed with a rich sunset reflecting off the high clouds directly above, while the icy snow added to the brightness. " The Moab, Utah, resident used a Canon EOS 5D Mark II. View past photos we've featured . To upload your own, visit our reader travel photo gallery . When you upload your photo, tell us where it was taken and when.

I wasn't sure how much time remained before sunset, but the red rocks around the trail head already were turning a rosier hue. If I didn't hustle, I would miss the chance to take twilight photographs of Delicate Arch, which I had driven all day to do. I wasn't the only one out to see the sun go down over Utah's Arches National Park.

Long frustrated by Washington's control over much of their state, Utah legislators are proposing a novel way to deal with federal land -- seize it and develop it. The Utah House of Representatives last week passed a bill allowing the state to use eminent domain to take land the federal government owns and has long protected from development. The state wants to develop three hotly contested areas -- national forest land in the Wasatch Mountains north of Salt Lake City, land in a proposed wilderness area in the red rock southwestern corner of the state, and a stretch of desert outside of Arches National Park that the Obama administration has declared off-limits to oil and gas development.

Extending the boundaries of Arches National Park to embrace picturesque Lost Spring Canyon could reopen some political wounds inflicted in Utah last year when President Clinton established a national monument. Freshman Republican Rep. Chris Cannon of Utah wants Congress to add the 3,500 acres of U.S. Bureau of Land Management land in the Salt Wash drainage north of Delicate Arch into the park.

Long frustrated by Washington's control over much of their state, Utah legislators are proposing a novel way to deal with federal land -- seize it and develop it. The Utah House of Representatives last week passed a bill allowing the state to use eminent domain to take land the federal government owns and has long protected from development. The state wants to develop three hotly contested areas -- national forest land in the Wasatch Mountains north of Salt Lake City, land in a proposed wilderness area in the red rock southwestern corner of the state, and a stretch of desert outside of Arches National Park that the Obama administration has declared off-limits to oil and gas development.

In September, we visited Moab, Utah, the mountain biker's mecca ("The Capital of Rock and Roll," April 24). It was fabulous, with one exception. It seems the bikers are so excited by the expansive areas of beauty, that they forget to honor the land they're visiting by staying on marked trails. Despite its rugged and powerful topography, this living crust is very sensitive and a tire or footprint may take a hundred years to repair. Arches National Park has already suffered significantly because it has been unprotected for years.

Charlie Kulander visited Arches National Park in southeastern Utah in December 2010, hoping to photograph Delicate Arch. "There was only one other photographer here at the time, a man from Germany who was utterly speechless at the unfolding spectacle we were witnessing," said Kulander. "We were blessed with a rich sunset reflecting off the high clouds directly above, while the icy snow added to the brightness. " The Moab, Utah, resident used a Canon EOS 5D Mark II. View past photos we've featured . To upload your own, visit our reader travel photo gallery . When you upload your photo, tell us where it was taken and when.

Park rangers in Utah's Arches National Park have never been able to tell visitors exactly how many natural rock arches exist in the park. One of nature's rarest and most beautiful creations, the majestic structures rise from the red sands of the southeastern Utah desert, spanning anywhere from a few inches to more than 300 feet.

Site: Goblin Valley State Park Where: A remote section of central Utah, between the towns of Hanksville and Green River. When was this formation created? The rocks are about 170 million years old, dating to the Jurassic era. But erosion has been chiseling the strange shapes only within the last 10 million years. What geological forces were at work? Erosion.

Site: Goblin Valley State Park Where: A remote section of central Utah, between the towns of Hanksville and Green River. When was this formation created? The rocks are about 170 million years old, dating to the Jurassic era. But erosion has been chiseling the strange shapes only within the last 10 million years. What geological forces were at work? Erosion.

Siding with environmental groups, a federal judge here has directed the Bush administration to conduct a more thorough environmental review before exploring for oil outside Arches National Park in Utah.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Interior Department from permitting oil exploration on thousands of acres of public wilderness on the eastern boundary of Utah's Arches National Park, a setback for the Bush administration's drive to expand oil and gas exploration in southern Utah and throughout the Rocky Mountain region. The ruling Wednesday in Washington by U.S.

I wasn't sure how much time remained before sunset, but the red rocks around the trail head already were turning a rosier hue. If I didn't hustle, I would miss the chance to take twilight photographs of Delicate Arch, which I had driven all day to do. I wasn't the only one out to see the sun go down over Utah's Arches National Park.

I wait. Now the night flows back, the mighty stillness embraces and includes me; I can see the stars again and the world of starlight. I am 20 miles or more from the nearest fellow human, but instead of loneliness I feel loveliness. Loveliness and a quiet exultation --Edward Abbey Desert Solitaire * If he were still alive, desert anarchist Edward Abbey could whisper in wonder about the Hale-Bopp comet, but many campers would be within hearing distance.

Extending the boundaries of Arches National Park to embrace picturesque Lost Spring Canyon could reopen some political wounds inflicted in Utah last year when President Clinton established a national monument. Freshman Republican Rep. Chris Cannon of Utah wants Congress to add the 3,500 acres of U.S. Bureau of Land Management land in the Salt Wash drainage north of Delicate Arch into the park.

A federal judge has temporarily blocked the Interior Department from permitting oil exploration on thousands of acres of public wilderness on the eastern boundary of Utah's Arches National Park, a setback for the Bush administration's drive to expand oil and gas exploration in southern Utah and throughout the Rocky Mountain region. The ruling Wednesday in Washington by U.S.

I wait. Now the night flows back, the mighty stillness embraces and includes me; I can see the stars again and the world of starlight. I am 20 miles or more from the nearest fellow human, but instead of loneliness I feel loveliness. Loveliness and a quiet exultation --Edward Abbey Desert Solitaire * If he were still alive, desert anarchist Edward Abbey could whisper in wonder about the Hale-Bopp comet, but many campers would be within hearing distance.

In September, we visited Moab, Utah, the mountain biker's mecca ("The Capital of Rock and Roll," April 24). It was fabulous, with one exception. It seems the bikers are so excited by the expansive areas of beauty, that they forget to honor the land they're visiting by staying on marked trails. Despite its rugged and powerful topography, this living crust is very sensitive and a tire or footprint may take a hundred years to repair. Arches National Park has already suffered significantly because it has been unprotected for years.

Music blaring from cars in the parking lots of Arches National Park violates the solitude of the southeastern Utah desert. A mobile mountain bike repair shop sits astride the road leading to Slickrock Trail. Traffic is snarled, property prices are soaring. Tourists, alas, have found Moab.