Natural Bridges National Monument

	Natural Bridges National Monument IUCN Category V - Protected Landscape / Seascape
	Sipapu Natural Bridge
location	near Blanding , San Juan, Utah, USA
surface	30.9 km²
WDPA ID	1041
Geographical location	37 ° 37 ′ N , 109 ° 59 ′ W Coordinates: 37 ° 36 ′ 37 " N , 109 ° 58 ′ 37" W
Setup date	April 16, 1908
particularities	since 2006 International Dark Sky Park Gold , DSAG class 2a

The Natural Bridges [ ˈnætʃrəl ˌbrɪdʒɪz ] (German natural bridges ) are a national monument in San Juan County in the US state of Utah . They are located on the eastern edge of the Colorado Plateau in White and Armstrong Canyon .

Three natural stone bridges - Sipapu , Kachina and Owachomo - were carved out over millions of years by sudden spring tides in the otherwise relatively dry, around 150 m deep stream bed. Anasazi Indians used the upper rocky ranks in the canyon for settlement until around 700 years ago. Remnants of this settlement can be seen during a circular hike in the canyon.

In 2002, 100,000 visitors came to the protected area.

As of March 6, 2006, the natural monument was also recognized as a light protection area by the International Dark Sky Association as International Dark Sky Park (IDSP, in gold), the first of its kind worldwide. Since then it has also been called Natural Bridges International Dark Sky Park .