In 1883, Cass Hite wandered up White Canyon from his mining claim on the Colorado River and discovered three stone bridges, bringing them to the attention of area residents and the scientific community. Nowhere else had three such monolithic structures been located in such close proximity, and they were described as having spans far greater than any previously known to exist. On April 16, 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt signed the proclamation creating Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah’s first National Park Service area. At the time of its establishment, little was known of the location and character of prehistoric ruins near the bridges, and extraordinary cliff dwelling and mesa-top ruins deserved study and protection within the new monument, prompting an expansion of the park boundary. Today, the three bridges—Sipapu, Kachina, and Owachomo, their names taken from Hopi culture—are among the largest natural stone bridges in the world, and the monument preserves notable geologic and archeologic features.