Overall, it's been a rough few weeks for tourists and admirers of the national parks across North America. Not one but two ancient North American structures collapsed within just nine days of each other.
It's so bad that one indigenous tribe is calling it a bad omen. So perhaps the end of the world is upon us, guys? Of course, it wouldn't be the first time. I'm still young enough to remember all the commotion about 2012. And all we got from it was a bad John Cusack movie.
For those living in the United States, the destruction of The Double Arch is the bigger travesty. It was a geological feature in Utah's Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. On any given year, thousands would flock to the park to see the unique North American structure. Now it is gone.
It crumbled on Wednesday. To put that in perspective, the North American structure was 190 million years old. It saw the birth and death of civilizations, and now it is a pile of rumble. Oh to suffer such a fate.
Its destruction follows another North American structure and its destruction. A pyramid at the Ihuatzio Archaeological Zone collapsed in Mexico. Heavy rain caused damage to the structure.
While not as ancient as the Double Arch, the pyramid has its own storied history. It stretches back over 1,000 years. The pyramid served as a reminder of the hard work of the Purépecha tribe members. Now, its bricks lay in the dirt.
North American Structures Collapse
Mother Nature played a critical role in both collapses. Experts believe that changing water levels as well as erosion caused the Double Arch to collapse. Meanwhile, a drought may have cracked the pyramid allowing rain water to get inside.
However, native tribe members believe it is a sign of something worse. They call it an omen of doom. Living Purépecha tribe members say something similar happened to them back before European invaders came to their lands.
"For our ancestors, the builders, this was a bad omen that indicated the proximity of an important event," Tariakuiri Alvarez told The US Sun.
"Before the arrival of the conquistadors, something similar happened, which for the Purépecha worldview of that time was because the gods Nana Kuerhaepiri and K'eri Kurikweri were displeased."
