Greetings Arch Hunters...today is Arch Wednesday! (Issue #36) 
Worldwide arch count: 6165; Net Change: 0; Arches with GAD 100 ft (30m) or more: 159 (2.58% of worldwide count); US State with the most arches: Utah with 3593 (58.3% of worldwide count/65.5% of US count); Country with the most arches outside the US: France, with 101 (1.64%); Fallen (Worldwide): 28 (0.45%)

Each week we update the World Arch Database (WAD) with newly reported arches as well as more accurate data and/or photos for existing arch entries. Each Wednesday (day may vary), we send you a list of the updated arch entries with a summary of what has changed.

NABS 2013 Arch Rally
The NABS 2013 Arch Rally in and near Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah was a great success. Several more arches were documented in White Canyon, including the beautiful Canyon Columbine Arch pictured above, reported by Stone Canyon and Cindy Bell. This arch creates the perfect environment for the Canyon Columbine flower, a cousin of the more colorful Rocky Mountain Columbine. Additional arches were found in the surrounding canyons as well, including Burch Canyon.
On the first day of the rally, Stone Canyon and fellow NABSters Peter Jamieson and Gwenda Ferris attempted to locate the lost "Tom Till" arch, also known as "The Intractable Arch," but were unsuccessful after an extreme effort was put forth. A local Moab, Utah photographer named Tom Till found this substantial arch about 12 years ago and took a fantastic photo of it, but did not obtain GPS coordinates for it or even accurate directions. NABS and others, including Stone Canyon, had previously attempted to locate this arch on the ground, in the air and about every which way you can think of. We surmise that either the arch has fallen or there is a chance (a slim one) that we were searching in the wrong area. There is still one tiny corner of Woodenshoe Canyon to search...someday! Until then, we'll have to assume the arch simply does not exist.
We were also unable to locate Queen's Arch, one we expected to find easily since it is well known. The weather was a problem when we wanted to go back to Peavine Canyon and search for it, so we'll have to save that mystery for another day. Apparently the coordinates, which were obtained from Robert Vreeland's book, are inaccurate.
Many additional arches were reported, and data and photos gathered for existing entries. It'll take until next Arch Wednesday to get all of this data and the photos uploaded to the WAD.

NABS Web Site Cross-Reference Project
We are cross-referencing the WAD with the Natural Arch and Bridge Society's (NABS) web site www.naturalarches.org. This is a huge job that will likely take several months to complete. There was no activity on this project this week.

Upcoming Projects
UtahArches.com Cross-Reference: Cross-reference of the WAD with Utah-only arch hunter David Sessions' site UtahArches.com.
Arches UK Cross-Reference:  Cross-reference of the WAD with supreme arch hunter Ray Millar's web site "Arches UK."
Bob's Arches Cross-Reference: Cross-reference of the WAD with supreme arch documenter Robert Fagley's web site "Bob's Arches."
Arch Millenium Cross-Reference: Cross-reference of the WAD with awesome canyoneer and arch documenter Guilain DeBossens' web site "Arch Millenium."
Arches of Kentucky Cross-Reference: Cross-reference of the WAD with perseverant Kentucky arch hunter Bill Patrick's web site for Kentucky arches.
Tennessee Arches Cross-Reference: Cross-reference of the WAD with Tennessee geographer Tom Dunigan's web site.
Journal of Natural Arch Discoveries (JNAD) Cross-Reference: A series of arch publications authored by probably the world's most prolific arch hunter, the late Chris Moore. While most of this work has been done, we will re-visit the JNAD to be certain all of our data is correct and complete.
Nature's Arches and Bridges Cross-Reference: Cross-reference of the WAD with a series of books authored by the late Robert Vreeland called Nature's Arches and Bridges. While most of this work has been done, we now have access to some of the issues of this series that were never published or were otherwise not available.

Upcoming Arch Hunting Expeditions
Kolb Arch: Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA - an attempt to find a direct route to this arch from the rim at Point Imperial (June, 2013). We'll also be attempting to negotiate a known route down to Hartman Bridge from the canyon rim. Search US>AZ>Location keywords "Grand Cyn"


Happy Arch Hunting!
yours truly,
Stone Canyon