The resort city of Sedona is located at the south end of Oak Creek Canyon, where it opens out onto a much larger valley floor. According to Roadside Geology of Arizona, the sedimentary rock structure visible in these buttes and canyon walls is unique to this part of Arizona. The bottom layer of alternating red sandstone and shale is the Supai-Hermit formation, seen also in the Grand Canyon. On top of that is a thick layer of deep red sandstone, found only in the Verde Valley, which Geology of Sedona calls the Schnebley Hill formation. The Coconino Sandstone, lighter in color, sits above this, and the Kaibab Limestone caps it all off. All told, there's more than 200 million years of history in this photo.
Copyright 2009, Garrett Wollman. All rights reserved. Photograph taken 2009-04-21.