It’s hard to imagine a natural stone sculpture more fragile than this sandstone “micro-arch”.
For that reason, I’m keeping the location of it vague — let’s call it Northern Arizona and leave it at that. God forbid someone went out there, planted their butt on top to pose for a selfie, only to topple it right over. Of course, I took this photo almost 10 years ago, and I haven’t been back since. Who knows if it hasn’t already succumbed to the erosional forces that carved it.
But I digress. The point is that many, many parts of our environment are fragile and must be tread upon incredibly lightly. That’s why I often don’t get too specific with naming places in my photos. A great many places are being “loved to death” — and any of us sharing photos or videos online may be contributing to the next fragile location being overrun and abused.
Perhaps the greatest thing we can do for our world’s natural wonders is to keep their secrets, allowing them to remain as they have for millennia — discovered not through geo-tags on social media, but through patient exploration and earned discovery.
Stay non-specific, my friends.
-Jake
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