Jiangzhou Immortal Bridge, 2nd largest natural bridge in the world, in China

 

This natural bridge has an estimated span of up to 340 feet (103.6 meters), making it the second-largest in the world. We passed through a small town to reach this feature, then drove under it as we left. From the road, there's a stairway that leads to the underside of the upper end of the bridge. At the upper end of the bridge, there's a small building underneath the span, and further along, caves split off in different directions. The lower end of the bridge has a river flowing under it. Downhill from the bridge, along the road are signs providing more information about this feature and many others in the area. 

Canon EOS 6D Mark II, ISO 100, f5, 1/100 sec, 17 mm focal length

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Fairy Bridge (Xianren) largest natural bridge in the world, located in China

 

This is the largest natural bridge in the world and it's located in China. Fairy Bridge is the translation for the Chinese name of Xianren, which means "eternal people." How that became "fairy" we don't know. It is estimated to have a span of 580' 8.5" (177 meters), height to the top of the span of  475' 9" (145 meters), height to the underside of the span of 219'10"  (67 meters), thickness of 255' 11" (78 meters), and width of 63' 7" (19.4 meters). We rode on a powered bamboo raft that could accommodate about 25 people down the river to go under the bridge to the other side, where we took this photo. Then, we went back upstream under the bridge again to return to our starting point. The bridge forms a low roof over that part of the river. We saw a bat on our way back. 

Canon EOS 6D Mark II - 23 mm focal length, ISO 100, 1/100 sec., f/5

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Jiu Dong Tian Caves, Arch in China

 

On our visit to China, we toured the Jiu Dong Tian Cave system by boat. We had to take a tour bus down the river, hike down the river to a bridge, cross over, then take another tour bus down the other side of the river, then hike down into a cave before boarding boats to continue on through the caves. We went under this huge arch as part of the hike down to the dock. For size comparison, you can see a picnic table with a red umbrella and people standing under it. After emerging from the cave, there was another dock where others could go on the tour by going upstream. Normally, we would've continued farther down river and taken another tour bus back, but recent storms caused damage downstream, so we ended up going back through the cave a second time by traveling upstream to the original dock.

The Chinese word for cave is "dong." The Chinese word for window is "tian." So where Americans might call this feature a natural arch, the Chinese often call these features a "cave window."

Canon EOS 6D Mark II, 46 mm, f22, 1/45 sec, ISO 1600

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Dachuandong Arch, near Si Lian, China, 4th largest arch in the world

 

In Guizhou Province, near the village of Si Lian, is a series of sinkholes and arches. There are actually 4 arches, but we only saw the second and third ones as they are the largest. When we visited this area, a local tourism official insisted on showing us the way and accompanying us with a couple of staff members. The reason for his action is that he wanted to show the government that people are visiting these features, and there should be investments in infrastructure to accommodate more visitors. His staff members recorded him speaking about the need for investments and pointing to our group of American tourists traveling all the way here to see how special this area is. It was also good that he guided us, because we encountered very narrow roads. He posted the videos on social media, and our guide was recognized when we checked into our hotel later that same day. The video had gone viral.

The third arch was the largest. Its span of 300 feet (91.4 meters) makes it the 4th largest arch in the world. We had to hike through the second arch to get to it. The name means "big cave with a window". The Chinese, instead of using the term "natural arch" or "natural bridge," seem to prefer using their words for "heaven's gate" or "cave with window" to describe these geologic features. We were told that this particular area was used in the past for making gunpowder. Maybe it was considered a dangerous undertaking, so those engaged in the manufacture of gunpowder had to keep well away from everyone else.

Samsung a52, 5.2 mm (24mm equivalent 35mm), f/1.8, Auto ISO

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Yunmentun Natural Bridge in China, 16th Largest in the World

 

We went on a trip to China to view 9 of the world's largest natural arches and natural bridges starting May 17, 2026. This was the first one we saw on this trip, it is number 16 on the list. Instead of calling these features "arches", the Chinese seem to prefer using the term "gate", as that is the translation for the "men" part of the name Yunmentun. Altogether it translates as Cloud Gate Village. It's been measured at 213 feet (65 meters) for its span. We rode in a boat upstream on the Yongshui River, viewed the bridge from the river side, then went under the bridge to a dock along this tributary.

Samsung a52 Phone camera: ISO 25, 1/313 sec, f1.8, focal length 5.2mm, (24mm equivalent)

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Crowley Lake Columns east of the Sierra Nevada in California

 

These rock columns are along the eastern shore of Crowley Lake, east of the Sierra Nevada, in California. Geologists believe this feature is the result of a lava flow that had rain or snow fall on it while it was still liquid causing the rock to solidify in a somewhat regular pattern. You can see the tops of the columns standing above the ground level. The dark line on the columns indicates the water level of the lake earlier in the season during the spring runoff. The columns appear to be disk-shaped rocks stacked on top of each other and you can see all the disk-shaped rocks from eroded columns make up the shoreline. Getting here required driving a rough dirt road and hiking a steep slope for 200 yards. Others had to park farther away and walk a mile on the road to get here. You can also boat across the lake from the west side to the east side to get here. This is a panoramic shot taken with a Samsung A52 set at ISO set for Auto, f1.8, 24 mm equivalent focal length. Below is a shot with Rick between columns for size comparison. You can see the upper parts of these columns are still in rock matrix while the water from the lake has eroded away the matrix where he's standing.

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Balanced Rock, Arches National Park, Utah

 

This image is from 2008 when we were still using film. So this is a slide that was scanned and edited. This feature in Arches National Park is called Balanced Rock. We can speculate as to how long it will be before the huge rock on top falls down, but it will eventually, such is geological forces. You can view this feature right from the road about 9 miles from the visitor center. If  you park and hike the trails, you can completely encircle it. This photo was taken in the afternoon with a westward sun lighting the scene and storm clouds starting to build.

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Burney Falls, after midnight, light painting

 

Burney Falls is a waterfall famous for its unique geology. The stream, Burney Creek, flows over the brink after being split into two streams that fall to the pool below. The rest of the cliff face has springs gushing from it that make it look like a very wide waterfall. The estimated amount of water flowing from this cliff is 100 million gallons per day. We visited McArthur-Burney Falls State Park during spring break 2021. 

In a way, Burney Falls is challenging to photograph in that it is north-facing and doesn't receive direct sunlight. We managed to get a better image of the falls than usual by taking this picture after midnight and using a flashlight combined with a long exposure time to light the scene in a way that couldn't happen during the daytime. This image was actually taken around 12:43am with a 30-second exposure, ISO 800, f5.6, and a focal length of 18mm. It needed a wide-angle setting on the lens to get all of the falls in the frame, plus we wanted to be physically closer so the flashlight could be more effective. This process of using a flashlight (or torch as the British call it) to light the scene is called light painting. It appears to bring out the colors of the ferns better than a daytime photo when the cliff is in shadow.

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Hinkey Summit Arch, Nevada, looking down through the arch

 

This is a natural arch in Nevada that you're looking down through to the road below. This is Hinkey Summit. We were able to follow a short side road off of the main dirt road in order to get above the opening. Rick drove from the main road up the side road while Bob hiked up to the arch from the main road and met Rick after scrambling through the opening.

Here's Bob standing at the base of the arch looking up through it. Later on, he scrambled up through the opening and met Rick on the upper side.

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Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park, chunks of calcium carbonate sticking out

 Mammoth Hot Springs is sometimes called a mountain turning itself inside out. Hot water deep underground dissolves calcium where it combines with carbon dioxide to make calcium carbonate. Once that solution comes to the surface, the water evaporates and the remaining water cools, resulting in the mineral being deposited into flowing shapes. Calcium carbonate is also the mineral that cave features like stalagmites and stalactites are made of and the white powdery substance you can see in your kitchen sink.

In this photo, you can see some of the flowing shapes have broken off and are lying across the terraces at odd angles. One of the chunks at the upper left appears to be almost completely upside down, with "fingers" of calcium carbonate sticking up. The colors in the white calcium carbonate come from bacteria and algae growing in the warm water. A reddish tinge can also be a sign that iron is mixed in. We were on a boardwalk that leads down from the top of a hill to get in position for this shot. f/8, 1/800 sec, 55 mm, Canon Powershot SX530 HS.

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Grotto Geyser erupting, Yellowstone National Park

Grotto Geyser always makes me think of a sea turtle.  If you imagine the rounded feature in the middle as the turtle's head, then the other two rounded features on either side look like flippers. Grotto Geyser is in the Upper Geyser Basin, which includes Old Faithful Geyser, in Yellowstone National Park.

Grotto may actually be a unique example of natural arch formation.  Scientists believe that the two "flippers" may have been formed by geyser mineral deposits over tree trunks which created two arches, since each flipper is an arc of rock over openings.

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Beauty Pool, in Yellowstone, sure is a beauty

Beauty Pool, in Yellowstone's Upper Geyser Basin, reflects the sky in this wide angle image taken July 31, 2019. You can get to it by starting out from the the Old Faithful area and hiking along the boardwalk on the east side of the Firehole River. It's just north of Grand Geyser, another feature worth watching. Beauty Pool is connected to the nearby feature called Chromatic Spring. When one of these features has their water rise and overflow, the water level in the other decreases. This back-and-forth between the two can take weeks or even years.

We were lucky to have no wind despite the cloudy conditions, so the reflection of the clouds turned out as we hoped. To fit the whole pool in the image, we used a wide-angle lens on a smartphone. It's capable of capturing images of 180º and 360º. This image was captured with 180º setting and edited for levels, local contrast, and sharpened.

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Roaring River Fall, in Kings Canyon NP, plus a huge boulder

In Kings Canyon National Park, there aren't as many waterfalls as in Yosemite Valley, but this one is in a special setting. Roaring River Fall gets its name because of how loud the water is as it drops down the canyon. The shape of the canyon at this point actually helps to amplify the sound. Also in this image is a huge erratic boulder that was left behind after the glaciers melted during the last ice age. You can get to this feature by parking along the main road and walking a short distance. During the spring, you'll be able to hear it. This image was taken in September after a very wet winter earlier in the year. So there was still a lot of water in the river. During the spring, though, the water can be as high as the whitish line of the rock face that you can see to the right of the waterfall.

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Sunset in Yellowstone, lighting up Clepsydra Geyser

We arrived in Yellowstone on our 2019 trip around sunset. After setting up camp at the Madison Campground, we went to the Lower Geyser Basin, a.k.a. the Fountain Paint Pots, to look around before it got dark. We got to see Clepsydra Geyser in its nearly continuous state of eruption as the sun was turning red on the horizon. Clouds floating overhead helped reflect some of the sunlight back down. The way the western clouds were shaped made the fiery colors take on the shape of two prongs or maybe a duck. At least that's what it made me, Rick, think of. At this stop along the park road, this feature is the farthest out on the boardwalk.

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El Capitan facing the sunset, Yosemite National Park

As a winter storm was clearing over the Sierra Nevada, in Yosemite National Park, the massive El Capitan faces the setting sun. This time of year, may people visit Yosemite in order to see the "firefall" of the red light of the setting sun causing the the waters of Horsetail Fall to glow and appear to be on fire. Unfortunately, there's no water in the waterfall this year due to a very dry winter. So in this image, we decided we should concentrate on El Capitan and the dramatic-looking sunset. We set ourselves up along the Four-Mile Trail on Yosemite Valley's south side for this picture. We had to leave the trail and go up a little bit of the slope to get a clear view.

This view might also illustrate why Horsetail Fall is a temporary waterfall. The drainage basin that supplies the water for the fall is just the eastern slope of El Capitan. You can see that basin at the upper right of this picture. So without much rainfall or melting snow to feed it, there is no waterfall.

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Arch Rock in Valley of Fire State Park, Nevada at night

This is Arch Rock in Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada, taken at night.  We posted a photo of the "backside" of this arch in a recent post, also a night shot.  This photo is from the road side of the arch.

Bob took this photo with a 30 second exposure, while Rick used a military grade flashlight to "paint" the arch and its surrounding formation.  The f/stop was 16 and the ISO was set at 3200.

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Sheep Rock at the John Day Fossil Beds in Oregon

While visiting Oregon to get in position for the Great American Eclipse, we visited the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, which consists of three units. One of those units is named after this feature, Sheep Rock. The line of totality included this area, with the center line not far north from here. We went through the visitor center looking at many paleontological displays that prove the scientific value of this area and why the National Monument designation was well-deserved. The other two units are the Painted Hills and Clarno. The river is named for John Day, but he didn't discover the fossils, nor did he even explore this far upriver. The person considered responsible for establishing the scientific value of this area was Thomas Condon. The visitor center in the Sheep Rock unit is named after him.

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Hidden Arch, aka Goulding Arch, the arch in Monument Valley near the campground

We traveled through southern Utah and northern Arizona in April 2017. We lucked into a campsite in Monument Valley and the lady doing the check in for us mentioned a hidden arch. After we asked for more information about it, she told us that it's actually called Hidden Arch and is a short hike from the campground, but can't be seen from the campground. So the next morning we went to see and photograph it.

We hiked through the arch from the campground side and are looking back in the direction of the campground for this image. This image was made from three separate images and combined in the computer to create a more detailed final image. These images were taken with a Sony camcorder that can also be used to take 20 megapixel still images. The final result is about 46 megapixels. Taken at 1/60 sec, f/4, 6.2 mm, ISO unknown.

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Utah's Geological Mexican Hat

In southern Utah is a little town called Mexican Hat. We always thought the name just referred to the sombrero, but then we discovered that there's a geological feature that reminds you of the hat. So here's a picture of the actual Mexican Hat that inspired the town's name.

We had driven through southern Utah and seen the Bears Ears and Natural Bridges National Monument before heading south into Arizona by going over the wildly crazy road called the Moki Dugway. The town of Mexican Hat is not far south of this winding section of dirt road that can tap into your fear of heights while you're driving it. The Mexican Hat geologic feature can be seen from the main road and only requires a short drive on dirt road to get close enough to it to get pictures. The photo looks especially red because we were passing by this feature as the sun was setting.

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Valley of Fire, Nevada, has its own "wave"

This feature in the Valley of Fire State Park, in Nevada, is along a short hike from the road. The rangers referred to it as their version of "the wave". Instead of being in a slot canyon, though, this feature is right out in the open, down a slope. The hike was only about a mile and there were lots of people there, we had to wait our turn to get pictures of the "wave" without any other people in the picture. We also got pictures of a chuckwalla lizard near here. The road is off to the right out of view. Other people continued beyond the "wave" and looked at other features. It appears to be sedimentary rock that has been eroded by the wind as it swirls around.

The Valley of Fire State Park is significant for all the Star Trek fans out there. This was the location where "Star Trek Generations" was filmed. This is the movie where Captain Kirk and Captain Picard meet and have to work together to defeat an evil scientist. At the end, Kirk dies and Picard ends up burying him.

Remember, it's not just a picture, it's a story!