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Series Code: ASB
Program Code: ASB000112A
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00:04 And comes from the DVD series, "Awesome Science"
00:10 NOAH JUSTICE: In eastern Utah, in the Colorado River Basin, 00:13 is a national park and a monument, 00:16 both with very unique but similar features. 00:19 Arches National Park has over 2,000 arches 00:23 formed in sandstone. 00:25 The arches range in size from very large to super small. 00:29 Some scientists say that these arches 00:31 formed over millions of years. 00:34 But at the rate they are eroding away, 00:36 this long time period would be improbable. 00:39 Then, just south of arches, is Natural Bridges National 00:43 Monument where three massive rock ridges 00:46 are found in White Canyon. 00:48 They are some of the largest natural bridges in the world. 00:52 Yet, there is no river that runs through this canyon. 00:55 Flash floods are supposed to be the erosion agent. 00:59 But again, the time frame that they 01:01 used to determine the ages of these awesome natural bridges 01:05 doesn't match the rate of erosion. 01:07 Some other mechanism with faster erosion rates was at work. 01:12 In addition, at the bottom of one of these bridges 01:15 is a mysterious figure drawn by ancient settlers which 01:18 gives hints of early animals in the southwest, specifically 01:22 what looks like a sauropod dinosaur. 01:25 Let's explore these parks and find out 01:27 how the Bible gives us hints about their formation and age. 01:32 All this and more, next on "Awesome Science." 01:41 "Awesome Science" takes you on a field trip 01:44 to some of the most amazing geologic and historic sites 01:47 around the world, where we used the Bible as our history 01:51 guidebook to interpret what we see, that Bible can be trusted, 01:55 and empirical science falls in line 01:57 with the biblical account of creation, 01:59 the fall, and the flood. 02:02 Science, it's awesome. 02:04 [music playing] 02:15 In the southwest part of the United States, 02:17 on the border of Utah and Colorado, 02:20 is one of the most amazing and unique national parks 02:24 in the country. 02:25 Sitting on almost 80,000 acres, it 02:28 is the largest concentration of natural bridges in the country, 02:32 containing more than 2,000 of these fascinating geologic 02:36 formations. 02:37 Over 43 arches have collapsed since 1977. 02:42 So the number of arches is decreasing. 02:45 In addition to the arches are incredible 02:47 balanced rocks, spires, pinnacles, 02:50 and slick rock domes. 02:52 More than 700,000 visitors cruise the roads 02:56 in the park each year with plenty of stops 02:58 for viewing and hiking. 03:01 The park sits between 4,000 and 5,600 feet above sea level 03:05 near Moab, Utah. 03:07 The arches are thought to have been 03:09 the result of water erosion. 03:11 But the nearest sea is more than 700 miles away and a mile lower 03:16 in elevation. 03:18 The park receives an average of 10 inches of rain a year. 03:22 But scientific research has shown 03:24 this area received a lot more precipitation in the past. 03:28 These facts give us hints as to what processes 03:31 might have been involved in creating 03:33 these amazing formations. 03:35 [music playing] 03:39 Signs around the park present a prehistoric past millions 03:43 of years old, based on the theories of geologic evolution 03:47 and naturalism. 03:49 The rich history of petroglyphs and pictographs 03:52 on the rocks in the park is evidence 03:54 that humans lived here since the ice age about 4,000 years ago. 03:59 Petroglyphs are motifs that are pecked, ground, incised, 04:03 abraded, or scratched on the rock surface. 04:07 Pictographs are paintings or drawings 04:09 in one or more colors using mineral pigments and plant 04:12 dyes on the rocks surface. 04:15 From the discovery of ancient dwellings in the park, 04:18 it is thought that the Fremont and Anasazi people lived here 04:21 as recently as 700 years ago. 04:24 The arches area became more well-known 04:27 when a railroad manager and a photographer 04:29 visited the area in 1923 to scout it for a possible tourist 04:34 destination. 04:36 Their research provided outsiders with a glimpse 04:39 to an amazing geologic wonderland. 04:42 In just a few years, the Park Service 04:44 got involved and considered making it a national monument. 04:49 Initially, President Calvin Coolidge 04:51 was resistant to the idea. 04:53 So in 1929, the newly elected President Herbert Hoover 04:57 was presented with the idea. 04:59 He quickly signed the proclamation 05:01 for making this area a national monument, reserving 1,920 acres 05:07 in the Windows area and 2,600 acres in the Devil's Garden 05:12 area. 05:13 The idea behind the national monument 05:15 was to protect the arches, spires, 05:18 and other formations for scientific and educational 05:22 value. 05:23 Over the years, various presidents 05:25 such as Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and Johnson 05:28 signed additional proclamations to enlarge the park. 05:32 Eventually, it became the size we see today-- 05:35 almost 80,000 acres. 05:37 [music playing] 05:42 There are more than 2,000 arches in the park, mainly contained 05:46 in the Entrada Sandstone and the Navajo Sandstone layers. 05:50 As we begin to study these formations, 05:52 a good question to ask is what makes an arch an arch? 05:58 First of all, the opening must measure 06:00 at least three feet across. 06:02 But the height can vary. 06:04 Secondly, the arch can stand independently 06:06 or be a part of a rock system. 06:09 On the other hand, natural bridges 06:11 tend to be at the bottoms of canyons. 06:14 The largest in the park is Landscape Arch, spanning over 06:17 306 feet. 06:20 It's longer than a football field from base to base. 06:23 But it is not the world's largest. 06:26 The Fairy Bridge in China measures over 400 feet 06:29 in length and 121 feet high. 06:33 Most of the world's largest arches 06:35 are in Utah, with a few others in Africa and China. 06:39 According to naturalist, new arches are constantly forming. 06:43 But no one has ever actually seen an arch form. 06:48 What we do see are many arches occasionally collapsing 06:51 over the past few decades. 06:53 Most recently, the Wall Arch collapsed in 2008. 06:58 According to the Natural Arch and Bridge Society, 07:01 there are five observable attributes that 07:03 are used to classify arches. 07:06 The first is contextual, which takes into consideration 07:09 the aspects of the surroundings in which the natural arch 07:12 occurs. 07:14 This could be desert or jungle, coastal or inland. 07:18 The second observation, called morphologic, 07:21 takes into account the general shape and orientation 07:24 of various parts of the natural arch. 07:26 What is the angle of the arch? 07:29 Is it more straight or curved? 07:32 How thick and wide is it? 07:34 Third, the metrics of the arch, meaning 07:37 what is the size of various parts of the natural arch? 07:41 This would involve different numbers 07:43 of thickness and angles. 07:46 Fourth, one must consider the geologic observations 07:49 such as the types of rocks and/or the geologic formation 07:53 the natural arch occurs in. 07:55 Finally, there is the anthropomorphic classification. 07:59 This takes into account the perceived relationship 08:02 between the natural arch and man. 08:05 For instance, have humans called the arch a natural window 08:08 or natural tunnel? 08:10 Most of the time, this attribute requires 08:13 the subjective judgment of the observer 08:15 and can mean different things to different people. 08:18 [music playing] 08:23 When coming to Arches, the main entrance for the park 08:26 is on the south side, near Moab, Utah. 08:29 After climbing in elevation, you quickly 08:32 come to the Courthouse Towers. 08:34 This includes Sheep Rock, Three Gossips, the Organ, 08:37 and the Tower of Babel. 08:40 These incredible steep cliffs of sandstone showcase erosional 08:44 remnants that remind you of Monument Valley 08:46 further to the south. 08:48 As you make your way north, you travel 08:50 through the petrified dunes on your right and the Great Wall 08:54 to your left. 08:55 Just about everywhere you go on the main road 08:58 holds amazing views. 09:00 There are plenty of pull outs for you to park and hike 09:03 around the formations. 09:05 Further north are amazing spires with single rocks balanced 09:09 on the top. 09:10 Side roads lead to some of the more famous locations 09:13 in the park, including Double Arch and Delicate Arch. 09:18 Near the north part of the park, you 09:20 enter through an incredible formation of rocks 09:23 called the Fiery Furnace. 09:25 Over the years, water and wind erosion 09:27 have worn down the sandstone into a huge collection 09:31 of spires and fins. 09:33 Finally, the road ends at the Devil's Garden, 09:36 where an easy trail guides you through fins 09:39 of rock and plenty of arches. 09:41 [music playing] 09:45 There's debate among scientists how these arches were 09:48 formed-- by wind or by water? 09:50 But what does the evidence really show? 09:53 Secular scientists claim 300 million years ago 09:57 an inland sea covered this area 29 different times, 10:00 leaving behind salt beds thousands of feet thick. 10:04 They say that 150 million years ago, the soft, red sandstone 10:08 was deposited. 10:10 Sand and boulders were carried down by streams and wind 10:13 from the uplands, eventually covering the salt beds. 10:17 There is evidence that rock over a mile 10:19 thick has been eroded from above this area. 10:22 What's left is revealed in these amazing rock formations 10:26 that we see today. 10:28 Because the salt layers underneath 10:30 are less dense than the overlying blanket of rock 10:33 pressing down on it, parts of the salt layers 10:36 have been squeezed up, arching upwards through the overlying 10:39 layers, forming into domes and ridges with valleys in between. 10:44 Eventually, ground water supposedly 10:46 wore away many of the salt deposits. 10:50 The sandstone collapsed and weathered 10:52 into a maze of vertical rock slabs called fins. 10:56 Wind and water attacked these fins 10:58 until, in some, the cementing material 11:01 gave way and chunks of rock tumbled out. 11:04 Many damaged fins collapsed. 11:07 Others with the right degree of hardness and balance 11:10 survived, despite their missing sections. 11:13 These became the famous arches. 11:16 Most freestanding rock arches are 11:18 believed to have formed without stream erosion. 11:21 A natural bridge is classified as spanning a valley. 11:25 An arch just spans ridges or the sides of a ridge. 11:29 Secular Geologists have estimated 11:31 it took about 70,000 years of water, frost, 11:35 and wind, operating in a dry climate, 11:37 to form isolated Delicate Arch in the park. 11:41 It's a good thing that earthquakes are rare here. 11:44 Because otherwise, these massive rock sculptures 11:47 would splinter and collapse. 11:49 [music playing] 11:53 The origin of freestanding arches 11:55 is a mystery to naturalists when they use their uniformitarian 11:59 principle to interpret the evidence. 12:02 This principle says that current observable processes have 12:06 gone on for millions of years and can explain 12:09 everything we see in nature. 12:11 They often deny or ignore quick catastrophic processes 12:15 for geologic formations. 12:18 But if we use current erosion rates, 12:20 these arches should have weathered and collapsed 12:23 long ago. 12:24 In other words, these arches are collapsing 12:27 at a much greater rate than they supposedly formed. 12:31 What's even more of a challenge to the secular idea 12:34 is that we don't see any arches forming today. 12:37 They are only destroyed. 12:40 In fact, in August 2008, the 12th largest arch 12:43 in the park, Wall Arch, collapsed. 12:46 And more continued to be threatened by collapse. 12:49 So how can so many arches be here 12:52 if there are millions of years old? 12:55 At the current rate, most would have disappeared not long ago. 12:59 The millions of years is just an imaginary number based 13:03 on naturalism, not solid facts. 13:06 The long processes that should have formed these arches 13:09 would have been beaten by rates of erosion. 13:12 These amazingly beautiful freestanding arches 13:15 seem to be a relic of past geologic processes, 13:19 a process that formed them by some mechanism using 13:22 quick erosion. 13:24 Is there any event in the past that 13:26 matches this type of process? 13:28 [music playing] 13:32 The Bible tells us that by day 150, 13:35 the entire Earth was covered in water. 13:38 Huge shifts in the crust and massive sedimentary layers 13:42 made life below the waters incredibly catastrophic. 13:47 Hot, salty, volcanic waters gushed from inside the Earth. 13:51 On contact with the cooler surging flood waters, 13:54 the salts rapidly fell out of solution. 13:57 So the massive layers of salt and sandstone 14:01 were laid down in a matter of days 14:03 over large swaths of land, some layers spanning 14:06 entire continents. 14:09 As the mountains rose after day 150, very large sheets of water 14:13 began to run across the landscape, 14:15 eroding entire sheets of sediments. 14:19 Even secular scientists agree that the arches area 14:22 was covered by thousands of feet of sediment 14:24 at some point in the past then eroded away 14:28 throughout the Colorado River basin. 14:32 As the water flow lessened toward the end of the flood, 14:35 it started channelising and landscaping, 14:37 cutting away even more of the softer sediments. 14:41 One theory is that this channelising phase 14:44 could have helped cut some of the arches, similar to how 14:47 natural bridges are formed. 14:49 But this isn't the only idea proposed by scientists. 14:53 The fact that bridges and arches are not forming today, 14:56 but have formed at a high rate in the past, 14:59 would give good motivation for believing 15:02 in catastrophic processes such as the global flood 15:05 as described in the Bible. 15:07 This program is brought to you by 15:11 An organization committed to producing high quality 15:15 science-focused television content 15:17 all from a Biblical worldview. 15:19 Awesome Science is our kids series hosted by Noah Justice 15:23 In every episode, Noah visits the national parks 15:26 and historical sites to help you understand 15:29 earth's history using a Biblical worldview. 15:32 Find us online to watch all of our shows, 15:35 Noah's bloopers, behind the scenes videos, and special interviews. 15:41 You can also visit and like our Facebook page. 15:44 Where we post updates, announcements, and post extra videos. 15:47 Our YouTube channel also hosts many of videos and bonus segments. 15:52 Thanks for visiting. We hope you enjoy our great content. 15:57 A recent lab experiment at Charles University in Prague 16:01 might also give clues for another model 16:03 of how the arches formed. 16:06 In this experiment, scientists submerged a piece of sandstone 16:09 in water. 16:10 A weight was put on top of the sandstone. 16:13 Then a funny thing happened. 16:15 The water began to erode the softer parts 16:17 of the submerged sandstone. 16:19 But the harder parts of the sandstone 16:21 stayed, causing an underwater arch to form. 16:24 This experiment would fit well with the flood model. 16:28 During the first 150 days of the flood, 16:31 water would have laid down the sandstones quickly. 16:34 They would have been saturated with water 16:36 while additional sediments were deposited 16:39 on top of the sandstone. 16:41 In this model, arches would have formed 16:43 in these sediment layers. 16:45 As the flood waters receded, massive sheet erosion 16:48 would have taken off the top layers 16:50 and some of the sandstone underneath, leaving the arches. 16:54 Because of natural erosion over the past 4,000 years, 16:58 the arches would have naturally become smaller and fewer, 17:01 leaving only the 2,000 that we find in the park today. 17:05 When we use a catastrophic model to build arches, 17:09 the observations make a lot more sense, rather than 17:12 the slow and gradual processes proposed by naturalists. 17:16 Arches National Park, a great testament to the global flood. 17:21 Even though it was a global destruction, 17:23 God left some pretty great formations for us 17:27 to admire today. 17:29 Science, it's awesome. 17:31 [music playing] 17:35 In the southwest corner of Utah, just 120 miles south 17:40 of Arches National Park, is another peculiar site 17:43 where water erosion has made some fascinating features 17:47 in White Canyon, also known as Natural Bridges National 17:51 Monument. 17:52 The features at Natural Bridges are primarily 17:55 different than that at Arches in that they form in a canyon, 17:58 rather than on a plane. 18:01 Even though they are different, it 18:02 is believed that water erosion was also 18:05 the cause of these formations. 18:07 The monument contains three large natural bridges 18:11 and has the seventh largest natural bridge in the world. 18:16 The three bridges are the Sipapu, Kachina, 18:19 and Owachomo, all of which are Hopi Indian names. 18:23 Inside the monument, ancient Indians 18:26 left evidence for their residence. 18:28 Just like it Mesa Verde, cliff dwellings and petroglyphs 18:31 dot the canyon walls. 18:34 One particular etching has drawn international attention 18:37 because it looks a lot like a sauropod dinosaur. 18:41 The natural bridges range in height 18:44 from 106 feet to 220, with spans as long as 268 feet. 18:51 There's no permanent river here carving this canyon. 18:54 There's only periodic flash floods, something much bigger 18:57 must have carved these bridges. 18:59 [music playing] 19:03 The earliest documented exploration of this canyon 19:07 happened in 1893. 19:09 Cass Hite was on a gold prospecting hunt 19:12 close to his camp on the Colorado River. 19:15 He took word back to the towns and cities 19:17 about this amazing landscape. 19:20 Then in 1904, the National Geographic magazine 19:24 publicized the natural bridges. 19:27 Just four years later, President Theodore Roosevelt 19:30 designated it as a national monument. 19:33 In fact, it was Utah's first national monument. 19:37 But actually, Cass was not the first to discover this canyon. 19:42 It is thought by anthropologists that the Anasazi Indians 19:45 occupied this area between 500 BC and 1270 AD, 19:50 similar to the time period of their occupation at Mesa Verde. 19:55 The earliest inhabitants probably lived in pit houses 19:59 on the mesa tops, while the later Anasazi 20:02 built cliff dwellings that can still be seen today. 20:05 For decades, the valley was only accessible by horseback-- 20:09 a three day ride from the nearest settlement. 20:13 Then in the 1950s, the uranium boom 20:16 resulted in the creation of new roads into the area. 20:20 And eventually, a state highway was paved in 1976. 20:25 Today, thousands of people visit it every year 20:28 to enjoy the amazing views, challenging hiking trails, 20:32 and to study the Native American art. 20:35 [music playing] 20:39 After you pass the visitor's center 20:41 on the east side of the park, you enter the nine-mile bridge 20:45 view drive loop. 20:47 The first natural bridge you come to 20:49 is Sipapu bridge, the fourth largest in the world 20:53 at 220 feet high and 268 feet wide. 20:59 It's so big, the opening would almost 21:01 house the dome of the United States Capitol Building. 21:05 Only three natural bridges in China have larger spans. 21:10 Trail heads at the parking lot allow you to hike down 21:13 underneath each bridge. 21:15 The trails are rated medium to difficult, 21:17 so use caution when hiking. 21:20 The next natural bridge you come to is Kachina. 21:24 It spans the canyon equidistant from both the Owachomo 21:28 and Sipapu bridges. 21:30 It's larger than the Owachomo, but smaller than the Sipapu, 21:34 showing that canyons are dynamic rather than static. 21:38 In June 1992, approximately 4,000 tons of sandstone 21:43 fell from the inside of Kachina Bridge. 21:47 It enlarged the opening even more, 21:49 as it has doubtless been enlarged time and time again. 21:53 Government surveyor William Douglas 21:55 dubbed the bridge Kachina when he found petroglyphs 21:58 and pictographs depicting dancing figures carved 22:01 on the base of the bridge. 22:03 Douglas assumed the ancestral Puebloan people 22:07 who left the ancient rock art were related 22:09 to the present-day Hopi people and the painted and carved 22:12 figures represented Kachina dancers. 22:16 Kachina Bridge is thought to be the youngest of the three 22:19 and unlike the others, is situated along the watercourse 22:22 of the canyon. 22:24 Kachina is more difficult to spot from the highway 22:27 and requires the longest walk to reach it. 22:30 Finally, the last natural bridge is Owachomo. 22:34 Owachomo is the smallest and thinnest 22:37 of the three natural bridges. 22:39 It is commonly thought to be the oldest. 22:41 But in reality, age between the three is hard to tell. 22:46 Regardless of its relative age, it 22:48 is certainly the most fragile and elegant of the three spans, 22:52 with only nine feet of thickness at the top. 22:55 It is an awe-inspiring feature of erosion. 22:59 Owachomo means "round mound" in Hopi, 23:02 being named after the rock formation 23:04 on top of the east end of the bridge. 23:07 Before William Douglas gave it this name in 1908, 23:11 it was called Edwin or Little Bridge. 23:15 The park has also become known as one of the world's least 23:18 light-polluted night skies. 23:21 The International Dark Sky Association 23:23 named Natural Bridges the world's first International 23:26 Dark Sky Park. 23:29 Even though it's a bit out of the way of most tourist spots, 23:32 Natural Bridges National Monument 23:34 is a must see, especially if you feel up to hike. 23:38 Standing beneath these bridges is truly an awesome sight. 23:42 [music playing] 23:46 Much of this area in Utah and the Four Corners 23:49 region of the United States is made up 23:52 of sedimentary layers of sandstone. 23:55 Just to the southwest of Natural Bridges 23:57 is the Grand Canyon, were some catastrophic event 24:05 This whole region is part of the Grand Staircase, a 10,000 foot 24:10 sequence of strata that has been revealed through erosion. 24:14 These sandstone layers are known to cover entire continents, 24:22 Awesome Science is a video series produced by 24:27 Awesome Science Media produces many other great shows, 24:38 Ark Animals 24:44 We broadcast our episodes throughout the world 24:46 on television networks, TV stations, and online platforms. 24:51 We're making a difference by challenging the deceptive 24:55 evolutionary worldview, which directly opposes the Word of God 24:59 Our mission is to provide youth with a firm foundation 25:03 based on solid scientific evidence that supports their 25:06 Biblical worldview. We also want to encourage youth 25:10 to pursue the Truth, and maybe even make a career from their 25:14 interest in science and the Bible. 25:16 Thank you for watcing our shows. 25:18 Please keep up with us as we continue to build new content 25:22 which builds up your faith in the Word of God. 25:26 We encourage you to get out here with your family 25:29 and see these amazing sites from a biblical worldview. 25:33 You'll be inspired that the biblical record is real. 25:37 Until next time, remember science, it's awesome. 25:40 [music playing] |
Revised 2018-03-22