A Day In Sedona Before Going Home

Did You Know? - The famous red rocks of Sedona are formed by a layer of rock known as the Schnebly Hill Formation. The Schnebly Hill Formation is a thick layer of red to orange-colored sandstone found only in the Sedona vicinity. The sandstone, a member of the Supai Group, was deposited during the Permian Period.

Did You Know? - Sedona Vortexes. A vortex is a place, usually on or near an interesting rock formation, where people have reported feeling inspired by a beneficial source of energy. If you're skeptical, that's okay - looking for vortexes (vortices?) is still a fun excuse for a hike.

Did You Know? - Sedona is located just at the base of the Mogollon Rim, an escarpment that runs east-west through the middle of Arizona and defines the boundary between the Colorado Plateau to the north, and the Basin and Range to the south. The Mogollon Rim is about 200 miles long, and ranges between 2000 and 3000 feet in height. In the Sedona region, erosion has gradually eaten away at the rim, moving it northward a distance of about four miles and leaving behind some of the most spectacular and picturesque canyons and buttes found anywhere in the world.

The deep red color for which Sedona is famous is due to the presence of hematite (iron oxide, otherwise known as rust) that stains the sandstone of the Schnebly Hill and Hermit Shale layers.

The steepness of the terrain is due the fact that the top layers of the strata are composed of basalt and limestone, which are harder than the underlying sandstone. Water running off the edge of the escarpment eats away at the lower layers, creating the shear cliffs. Eventually enough soft material is weatherd away that it undercuts the cap layer, which subsequently breaks off in large slabs and falls into the canyons. This exposes new soft material and the process starts again, with the cliff face now twenty-odd feet further north than it was before.

Figure 1 illustrates the many layers that underly the Mogollon Rim. Not all of these layers are present in Sedona: Most of the geological features in that region range as high as the Toroweap Sandstone (and in some cases, the Kaibab Limestone), and as low as the Hermit Shale layer. Some locations in and around Sedona contain sinkholes, which are presumably due to disolution of the thick Red Wall Limestone layer, causing the higher Supai Sandstone and Hermit Shale to collapse into the void.

Did You Know? - Evidence of human presence in the Sedona region begins around 4000 BC when hunter-gatherers roamed through the Verde Valley. As early as 300 BC the dry desert soils were being farmed by the Hohokam people, who developed systems of irrigation canals by 700 AD but then mysteriously abandoned the area, perhaps because of a regional volcanic eruption in 1066 AD.

Did You Know? - Europeans first arrived in the region in 1583, when a group of Spanish explorers came in search of gold and silver. Following the end of the Civil War and the creation of the Territory of Arizona in 1863, homesteaders began to settle in the Verde Valley and along Oak Creek from the 1870's. The early settlers were farmers and ranchers, and Oak Creek Canyon was well known for its apple and peach orchards.

Did You Know? - At an elevation of 4,500 feet (1,372 m), Sedona has mild winters and hot summers. In January, the normal high temperature is 51 degrees Fahrenheit with a low of 21. In July, the normal high temperature is 93 degrees Fahrenheit with a low of 63. Annual precipitation is around 19 inches.

Did You Know? - Hans learned a new word during the weekend: oblivious. Curt used it first while describing on of our group whom he thought was unaware of what the rest of us were doing. Every day Hans would ask us to repeat that word. Toward the end of the trip we were using it often, usually as a descriptor for other drivers on the road. It became a joke.