Natural Bridge, Santa Cruz, California

Brown pelicans dive off Natural Bridge near Santa Cruz, California at sunset. There used to be three arches, but the second one collapsed in the early 1980s. The first collapsed even earlier. Arches or bridges form when waves continually pound a weak spot in the rock, wearing a hole through it. Over time, continued erosion enlarges the hole so much that the overlying rock can no longer be supported and it collapses. A bridge is a span that connects to the mainland; an arch stands by itself.

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Brown pelicans dive off Natural Bridge near Santa Cruz, California at sunset. There used to be three arches, but the second one collapsed in the early 1980s. The first collapsed even earlier. Arches or bridges form when waves continually pound a weak spot in the rock, wearing a hole through it. Over time, continued erosion enlarges the hole so much that the overlying rock can no longer be supported and it collapses. A bridge is a span that connects to the mainland; an arch stands by itself.