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Arches and Natural Bridges

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Arches and Natural Bridges Letters The logic used in this report Arches and natural arch located high above the appears sound. Synchronisms between surrounding countryside. When Assyria, Egypt and Hittite rulers for the bridges hiking to it, you can not see it period 1,300–800 BC seem like a good until the very end of the hike argument. As the report states: Mike Oard’s paper on natural when the view suddenly opens up “Hattusilis III also corresponded arches and bridges provides a and there it is—quite spectacular! with the Assyrian king Shalmaneser superior model for the origin of these Your first view of it is across a I (ca. 1275–1245 BC ). Consequently, spectacular features. He summarized large, well-rounded basin. This Shalmaneser I must have been a his objection to the uniformitarian basin appears to be the work of a contemporary of Rameses II as model by stating, “erosion by normal colossal amount of swirling well. And we know roughly how weathering processes during the water. A lot of swirling water many years there are between formation of large natural bridges forming this basin at a considerable Shalmaneser I and his namesake and arches would have destroyed Shalmaneser III: slightly over 400. height above what is today a dry these features long before eroding desert cannot be adequately Since we know that Shalmaneser down to their present levels.” This is III lived in the 800’s, Shalmaneser explained by present processes. a major point that we can make when I and hence Rameses II must have The arch and its companion basin lived in the 1200’s.”3 visiting these popular land forms and together testify eloquently of Dating Shalmaneser III interacting with other tourists there. massive amounts of water. and the battle of Qarqar at 853 BC For those wanting to know more 2. Kolob Arch, one of the largest in (astronomical anchor date) as well as about natural arches and bridges, the world, is located in Zion the time interval between Shalmaneser a wealth of information and great National Park, Utah. This unusual III back to Shalmaneser I is a critical photos can be viewed at the Natural arch stands directly in front of a pillar. The Assyrian King List provides Arch and Bridge Society website. massive cliff face. I believe that a list of kings and length of reigns I’d like to comment on a few arches an arch situated like this was not for this period from Shalmaneser I and bridges which I have visited likely formed by large amounts to Shalmaneser III and so supports and which can be seen at the above of late-Flood runoff. Rather, the the conventional chronology. This website. process of post-Flood sapping looks like a solid argument for dating may have been largely responsible Rameses II in the 1200s BC and not 759 1. Delicate Arch is not only for it. BC as David Down suggests. spectacular. It is an extremely 3. Lexington Arch in Great Basin popular hike at Arches National National Park, Nevada, is another Rod Bernitt Park in Utah. You have to hike unusual arch. It is located high up Upper Marlboro, MD uphill for 4.8 km with an elevation on a ridge, but is composed of UNITED STATES of AMERICA gain of 146 m to get there. When limestone. Could this be a relic of David Down replies: you first see it, you are struck by a cave at this height? If so, then this freestanding (abandoned) enormous amounts of limestone Shalmaneser was a common name for Assyrian kings, and I would dispute the identification of the Shalmaneser addressed by Hattusilis III as the one scholars have numbered as Shalmaneser I. David Down Hornsby, NSW AUSTRALIA References 1. Down, D., The Hittites—second time round, Journal of Creation 23(1):50–55, 2009. 2. Down, ref. 1, p. 55. 3. Aling, C., Historical synchronisms and the date of the exodus, 07 Nov 2008, <www. biblearchaeology.org/>. Figure 1. Crawford Arch, Zion National Park, Utah. JOURNAL OF CREATION 23(2) 2009 67 Letters to require rapid erosion not that long ago. Many other arches in Arches National Park, such as Double Arch (figure 2), also would be difficult to explain by post-Food processess. Kolob Arch in Zion National Park could easily have formed in post-Flood time, because it essentially is an eroded alcove in the massive Navajo Sandstone that became separated from its main cliff by about 14 m. Sapping processes are a reasonable explanation. Lexington Arch in Great Basin National Park, being in limestone, could Figure 2. Double Arch, Arches National Park, Utah. have weathered slowly in post-Flood time. would have been eroded away formation in a Flood environment both in front of it and behind it. than with the slow cutting of a Michael J. Oard The arch itself, as I recall, is only seasonal desert stream, modified Bozeman, MT about one to two meters thick. In by wind erosion. By the way, UNITED STATES of AMERICA front and behind it is just air, since Rainbow Bridge is in Utah, not it is near the top of a high ridge. Arizona. I find it easier to envision this arch In conclusion, there are so forming in accordance with the many different varieties of arches secular model, not from Flood and natural bridges, that there are runoff. Also, as I recall, this arch lots of opportunities for closer study is not smoothly rounded, which of some of these topographic features would have likely been the case in order to try to determine how they if it had been the result of late- were formed. Flood runoff. I still believe the Art Manning limestone was laid down by the Millville, NJ Flood, but the arch itself was not UNITED STATES of AMERICA very likely the result of late-Flood runoff. Michael Oard replies: 4. Rainbow Bridge, I believe, based I agree with Manning that there on its situation, would be a good are a variety of natural bridges and candidate for having been formed arches and that some of them formed by the undercutting of a neck of after the Flood, but some seem to a meander bend by late-Flood require rapid erosion characteristic runoff. This magnificent bridge is of the Retreating Stage of the Flood. so thick, graceful, and strong that It sure seems that Delicate Arch and it shows no signs of pieces falling Rainbow Bridge require late Flood out, such as is seen, for example, runoff, as Manning states. Crawford with Landscape Arch. Its smoothly Arch on the side of Bridge Mountain, contoured surfaces, I believe, are Zion National Park, is a narrow sliver better explained by its rapid of sandstone (figure 1) that also seems 68 JOURNAL OF CREATION 23(2) 2009.
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