It is probably the world's tallest natural arch. Though long familiar to locals (the south side of the arch is visible from the plain below) it was famously "discovered" 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. Shipton made unsuccessful attempts to reach the arch from the south, but was defeated each time by a maze of steep canyons and cliffs, before his party finally found a route to the arch from the north and photographed it. The arch once figured in the Guinness Book of Records for its exceptional height, but the editors of the book could not verify the location of the arch exactly, so the listing was dropped.[1]
It was only as recently as May 2000 that an expedition sponsored by National Geographic rediscovered the arch for the outside world.[2] Today, several companies operating out of Kashgar offer day trips to the arch for tourists. The arch is about a one- to two-hour drive from Kashgar in addition to another one- to two-hour hike. It used to be that visitors were guided by locals and required to climb shaky ladders on their way to the arch but China has since invested money into a visitor's center, staircases and a viewing deck.[3]
The Gobi March 2008, an international stage race, took competitors to the top of the arch during its seven-day, 250-kilometer footrace.
View from the base of the rubble pile
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). The "true" height of the arch is debatable: viewing the arch from the north (normal approach route) it appears to be 200 feet (61 m) tall from the top of the 100 feet (30 m) rubble pile; from the south side (approachable via a technical canyon ascent), the height is closer to the estimated 1,500 feet (460 m). The height depends upon what constitutes the base of the arch, which is either the base of the rubble pile (which is partially under the arch and where the span achieves its maximum width) or the floor of the west side canyon head, 900 feet (270 m) lower.
Referencesedit
^"Tushuk Tash (Shipton's Arch)". The Natural Arch and Bridge Society. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
^Schmidt, Jeremy (December 2000). . National Geographic. Archived from the original on July 1, 2002. Retrieved 28 March 2016.
^"Shipton's Arch; World's Tallest Arch". FarWestChina.com. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
shipton, arch, uyghur, تۆشۈك, تاغ, romanized, töshük, tagh, literally, hole, mountain, simplified, chinese, 阿图什天门, traditional, chinese, 阿圖什天門, pinyin, Ātúshí, tiānmén, wade, giles, u2shih2, ien1men2, artux, heavenly, gate, simply, simplified, chinese, 天门, tra. Shipton s Arch Uyghur تۆشۈك تاغ romanized Toshuk tagh literally Hole Mountain simplified Chinese 阿图什天门 traditional Chinese 阿圖什天門 pinyin Atushi tianmen Wade Giles A1t u2shih2 t ien1men2 lit Artux Heavenly Gate or simply simplified Chinese 天门 traditional Chinese 天門 pinyin Tianmen Wade Giles T ien1men2 lit Heavenly Gate is a conglomerate natural arch in China s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region It is located in Kizilsu Kirghiz Autonomous Prefecture west northwest of Kashgar near the village of Artux at an altitude of 2 973 metres 9 754 ft Shipton s ArchIt is probably the world s tallest natural arch Though long familiar to locals the south side of the arch is visible from the plain below it was famously discovered 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 Shipton made unsuccessful attempts to reach the arch from the south but was defeated each time by a maze of steep canyons and cliffs before his party finally found a route to the arch from the north and photographed it The arch once figured in the Guinness Book of Records for its exceptional height but the editors of the book could not verify the location of the arch exactly so the listing was dropped 1 It was only as recently as May 2000 that an expedition sponsored by National Geographic rediscovered the arch for the outside world 2 Today several companies operating out of Kashgar offer day trips to the arch for tourists The arch is about a one to two hour drive from Kashgar in addition to another one to two hour hike It used to be that visitors were guided by locals and required to climb shaky ladders on their way to the arch but China has since invested money into a visitor s center staircases and a viewing deck 3 The Gobi March 2008 an international stage race took competitors to the top of the arch during its seven day 250 kilometer footrace View from the base of the rubble pileThe 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 The true height of the arch is debatable viewing the arch from the north normal approach route it appears to be 200 feet 61 m tall from the top of the 100 feet 30 m rubble pile from the south side approachable via a technical canyon ascent the height is closer to the estimated 1 500 feet 460 m The height depends upon what constitutes the base of the arch which is either the base of the rubble pile which is partially under the arch and where the span achieves its maximum width or the floor of the west side canyon head 900 feet 270 m lower References edit Tushuk Tash Shipton s Arch The Natural Arch and Bridge Society Retrieved 28 March 2016 Schmidt Jeremy December 2000 Journey to Shipton s lost arch National Geographic Archived from the original on July 1 2002 Retrieved 28 March 2016 Shipton s Arch World s Tallest Arch FarWestChina com Retrieved 30 June 2016 39 39 37 80 N 75 31 24 80 E 39 6605000 N 75 5235556 E 39 6605000 75 5235556 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Shipton 27s Arch amp oldid 1186575480, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
