Double Arch in Arches National Park, Utah, is one of the most recognisable natural formations in the Moab area. The sandstone formation consists of two massive arches sharing the same end, creating a huge open chamber of red rock in the Windows Section of the park. Its scale, shape and desert surroundings give it a dramatic adventure-film quality, which makes it especially easy to understand why it was chosen for one of cinema’s most famous archaeologist-adventure openings.
Double Arch is best known from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), where it appears during the prologue with young Indiana Jones, played by River Phoenix. The film uses several locations in Arches National Park and the wider Moab area for the 1912 Utah sequence, turning the real landscape into the place where Indy’s obsession with archaeology, danger and stolen artefacts begins. Double Arch is one of the clearest and most recognisable formations in this part of the film.
In Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Double Arch appears in the opening sequence after young Indy discovers treasure hunters removing the Cross of Coronado. The area around the arch is used as part of the desert landscape where he tries to escape with the artefact, before the chase continues across other Utah and Colorado locations. The scale of Double Arch gives the scene a strong adventure tone, making the natural formation feel like the entrance to a lost world even though it is part of a real national park landscape.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was filmed across six countries, featuring iconic spots like Petra in Jordan, the Tabernas Desert and Monsul Beach in Spain, and Venice, Italy.
Strater Hotel
Strater Hotel is most relevant as a filming location from National Lampoon’s Vacation. The hotel is also connected to Nurse Betty, which filmed in Durango.
Mac’s Motel Heber City
Mac’s Motel appears in Marshals, in “Wolves at the Door”, episode 13 of season 1. The episode uses it for a stakeout sequence with Cruz, Calvin and Skinner.
Ontario Mine
Ontario Mine has been used in both horror and modern Western crime drama. It appears in the horror film The Boogens, and as a recurring location in Marshals.
Boneyard Saloon
Boneyard Saloon is used in Marshals, where it stands in for the fictional Bullet ’n Barrel Saloon. In the series, the bar functions as a local watering hole.
Indiana Jones Bed & Breakfast
Indiana Jones Bed & Breakfast in Antonito, Colorado, is one of the most charming real-world locations connected to "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade".
El Tovar Hotel
El Tovar Hotel is best known from National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983), where the Griswold family stops at the Grand Canyon during their trip to Walley World.
The Stanley Hotel
The Stanley Hotel is the inspiration for King’s novel The Shining (1977) and used for The Shining in 1997. The hotel also appears in Dumb and Dumber (1994).
Hoover Dam
Hoover Dam has appeared in several films, including Saboteur, Superman, Fools Rush In, Vegas Vacation, Transformers, Into the Wild and San Andreas.
Devils Tower
Devils Tower is most famously connected to "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977). It also appears in the science-fiction comedy "Paul" (2011).
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