Natural Bridge sandstone span, Utah, circa 1950

About this postcard

A great sandstone natural bridge spans a canyon, its opening framed by eroded orange and pink rock, with pine-covered slopes and blue ridges beyond and a slender tree in yellow autumn foliage at the right edge. The printed caption calls it the largest of the natural bridges, 335 feet from wall to wall with a clear opening of 357 feet, tall enough to clear the top of the Capitol dome by 51 feet. Natural bridges form where streams cut through sandstone fins and leave a span standing behind. The large examples in Utah's canyon country were set aside as a national monument in the early 20th century, and mid-century color cards like this one carried them to armchair travelers and roadside tourists.