Shipton's Arch Xinjiang Autonomous Region China

            I visited this breathtaking arch in 2006 and again 2007. Both times we had to search for a driver in Kashgar who knew how and where to find this location amongst a maze of tortured hills and valleys. Now several tour companies operate to take visitors to see this impressive geological feature.

Shipton's Arch or The Heavenly Gate is a conglomerate natural arch, west-northwest of Kashgar, near the village of Artush in China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

It is probably the world's tallest natural arch. Though long familiar to locals, it was famously visited in 1947 by English mountaineer Eric Shipton during his tenure as the British consul in Kashgar – and made known to the West in his book Mountains of Tartary. 
t was only as recently as May 2000 that an expedition sponsored by National Geographic rediscovered the arch.
The height of the arch is estimated to be 1,500 feet (460 m), about the height of the Empire State Building. The span of the arch is roughly 180 feet (55 m). 
   

Taken in: 中國 / 新疆维吾尔自治区 / 阿图什市 (show map)

Taken on: September 13, 2007

Tags:

Asia

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Shipton's Arch

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Threads in The Sand « less

Sets appears in: • China • Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region China more » • Rocks & Boulders & Other Geological Wonders « less

Groups appears in: • XINJIANG, CHINA 新疆

Camera: Canon EOS 5D, f/8.0, 1/250 sec, 67mm, ISO 400 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 5D
Lens:	Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS
Aperture:	f/8.0
Exposure Time:	0.004 sec (1/250)
Focal Length:	67mm
ISO:	400
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Not Defined
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Show full info

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