The most photographed natural arches in the Alabama Hills. The hills where formed when the Sierra Nevada mountains uplifted and tilted to the west and the Inyo range uplifted and tilted to the east to create the sliver of hills about 20 km by 4 km in Owens Valley. Years of weathering created arches and rock spires like stacked potatoes.

The Alabama Hills where named by prospectors sympathetic to the Civil War Confederates. The areas scenic and wonderful rock formations have been the backdrop of Hollywood film makers for many years. The arch is is often used by photographer to frame Mt. Whitney, the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States.