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by Steve Heath
Cedar City is near the borders of the Great Basin, the Colorado
Plateau, and Utah’s largest volcanic complex. Arches,
which exist in a variety of geologic formations in this area,
exhibit some of the region’s geologic diversity. Cedar
City generally is not known for hosting arches, yet within
a 30-mile radius there are more than a dozen arches. Described
here are five of these features.
Mitchell Arch
 Mitchell
Arch is eight miles north of Parowan (northeast of Cedar City),
located in section 23, Township 32 South, Range 9 West. The
arch is on Bureau of Land Management land and can be reached
by a short hike from a jeep road west of the Kane Springs
Road. The area contains ash flows from the Tushar Range to
the north; Mitchell Arch is in an eroded section of volcanic
ash from the Leach Canyon Formation, and spans 32 feet and
is 7 feet high in the center of a 60- foot-long rock fin.
Hole in the Wall Arch/Timpe Arch
 Hole
in the Wall Arch, locally referred to as Timpe Arch, is four
miles south of Parowan in section 35, T. 35 S., R. 9 W., on
the west side of Parowan Canyon (Route 143) on Dixie National
Forest land. The arch can be seen from southern Parowan, and
can be reached by driving up a jeep road west of the arch
and scrambling up a steep mountain face. Formed in a poorly
cemented section of the Grand Castle Formation (an unlikely
place to find an arch because of the rock’s gravel-like
composition), the arch spans about 12 feet and is about 41/2
feet high.
Second Left-hand Canyon Arch
Second Left-hand Canyon Arch lies four miles southeast of
Hole in the Wall Arch, in section 19, T. 35 S., R. 8 W. (Dixie
National Forest), on the east side of Route 143. One of at
least four arches in the upper Claron Formation (pink limestone)
along Center Creek, this rectangular arch has a span of 20
feet and a height of 13 feet, and can be seen from the road
traveling down canyon, or reached by an easy hike.
Flannigan Arch
Flannigan Arch is located in Ashdown Gorge east of Cedar
City in section 25, T. 36 S., R. 10 W. The tough, wet, 11/2
mile hike along Ashdown Creek to the arch begins between mile
markers 7 and 8 on Route 14. The arch, which has a span of
120 feet and is 100 feet high, is a very impressive Iron County
site and was recommended for National Monument status in 1918.
Formed in sandstone of the Iron Springs Formation, the arch
is on Dixie National Forest land.
Elephant Arch
Elephant Arch is south of Cedar City, in the Kolob Canyons
section of Zion National Park on the north side of the North
Fork of Timber Creek in section 35, T. 38 S., R. 12 W. The
arch can be seen from the terminus of the Kolob Road, or reached
by hiking the first mile of the Kolob Arch Trail, then heading
east towards the cliffs and along the creek until the canyon
narrows. From the creek, scramble up the steep north side
then east toward the west side of the arch. Located in the
base of the Navajo Sandstone and the top of the red Kayenta
Formation, the arch spans approximately 40 feet and is about
20 feet high.
About the Author
Steve Heath has taught mathematics at Southern Utah University
for 30 years. He also has a masters degree in the History
of Science and has a keen interest in the history of the southern
Utah national parks and monuments. Much of his free time is
spent hiking and exploring southern Utah.
Geosights article, Survey Notes,
v. 33 no. 1, January 2001
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