Natural Bridges National Monument

Natural Bridges National Monument is located about 50 miles northwest of Four Corners. The park features 3 natural bridges with the Hopi names of Sipapu, Kachina, and Owachomo. President Theodore Roosevelt designated the area a national monument on April 16, 1908. It is Utah's first National Monument. In addition to the natural bridges, there is a well preserved Ancestral Puebloan site, the Horsecollar Ruin. The ruin has a rectangular kiva and 2 granaries with oval shaped doors roughly resembling horse collars which give the ruin its name. The park contains a nice visitor center, campground, and picnic areas. I visited the park in 1989 and again in 2009.

Park sign

Visitor Center

Might be a Plateau Lizard
Not sure

Horsecollar Ruin sign

Horsecollar Ruin - South Unit

Sipapu Bridge

Sipapu is the largest and most spectacular of the three bridges in the Monument. It is considered middle aged, older than Kachina but younger than Owachomo. Sipapu is the Hopi word for the opening beween worlds in acestral puebloan mythology.
Height: 220 ft - Span: 268 ft - Width: 31 ft - Thickness: 53 ft

Sipapu Bridge

Sipapu Bridge (1989)

Sipapu Bridge (2009)

Sipapu Bridge

Puebloan granary or storage room

Kachina Bridge

Kachina is the youngest of the 3 bridges and is situated about midway between Owachomo and Sipapu. It's smaller than Sipapu and larger than Owachomo. Kachina is the Hopi word for a spirit being in the mythology of Pueblo Indians.
Height: 210 ft - Span: 204 ft - Width: 44 ft - Thickness: 93 ft

Terrain near Kachina Bridge

Pool at Kachina Bridge

Kachina Bridge

Owachomo Bridge

Owachomo is the oldest of the 3 bridges. It's also the smallest and thinnest, and will probably be the first to collapse; it's only 9 ft thick at the center of its span. Owachomo means "rock mound" in Hopi.
Height: 106 ft - Span: 180 ft - Width: 27 ft - Thickness: 9 ft

Owachomo Bridge

Desert Spiny Lizard
(Sceloporus magister)

Wash near Owachomo Bridge