This arch may not have been here very many centuries, but it is a very “old” arch. Thin and delicate, the fragile span over a relatively huge opening is near the end of its life.
9
D Back when we explained bridge formation and abandoned meanders, we said Armstrong Canyon’s run-off played an important role in Kachina’s development and that we would explain it “later.”
[Well,] now is later. Before the opening was formed, while White Canyon run-off came around the channel on your right, Armstrong Canyon run-off flowed down the channel from your left and rushed right against the rock wall that once existed where the opening now is. Flood waters roaring down Armstrong would rush out its mouth, cross the White Canyon streambed, and smash into that rock wall. Floods carry great loads of sediment: sand, gravel, pebbles, rocks and boulders. These are the teeth of a flood, the sand and boulders. They are the agents of erosion that bang, smash and batter any obstruction. It is a bit like a liquid saw with stone teeth. It’s an act of violence, a cataclysm, a ripping and tearing. There really isn’t anything nice or gentle about it, but it’s a great way to undercut rock walls and gnaw holes in them!
And that is precisely what it did.
Well, that’s about enough for a while. You are more than halfway through the Monument and we’ve been telling you what to see, do, and think entirely long enough. Go now, and just enjoy the rest of this lovely walk. Walk the trail in leisure and peace. At the bridge are ancient ruins and irreplaceable prehistoric rock art. Let them speak to you, respect them, and consider your long gone predecessors here. Consider your place here, too, and the role you play in our beautiful little world.
BEWARE! And go cautiously, for there are spirits here that will make you part of this land and forever call you back!
Ancient Ruins and Rock Art
10 2.0 (7.1) Owachomo Bridge viewpoint and trailhead
Owachomo is a lovely bridge. Long, thin, flat; a fragile old bridge nearing its logical and inevitable end: collapse. The opening grows very slowly under an old bridge. The opening widens as the bridge abutments wear away and the overhead span (the bridge itself) becomes thinner and thinner, one grain of sand at a time.