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In The Beginning...
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It started about 225 million years ago when two of the earth's tectonic plates pushed-up against each of other giving rise to the Colorado Plateau. The southern leading-edge of this collision is what we named the Mogollon (muh-gee-yon) Rim. You'll impress the locals if you can pronounce it correctly.
Sedona's red rock rock formations are a product of wind and water erosion, not uplifting of the earth's crust as is the case with the Rocky Mountains. The Colorado Plateau also happens to be dotted with the remnants of ancient volcanoes. The San Francisco Peaks in Flagstaff are the area's most visible example. Around 8-10 million years ago, Sedona experienced significant lava flows that left a 75-100 foot layer of volcanic basalt in places. If you look at the eroded edge along the top of Mount Wilson you will see a greyish-colored band of rock -- basalt!
The coloring and layers that you see are the result of changing geological and climatic conditions. As you may recall from your geology class, earth began as a single continental mass. As this single land mass broke apart, the pieces drifted through different climatic zones of the earth. The land that is Sedona experienced desert conditions as well as being at the bottom of large bodies of water -- multiple times in-fact. With the alternating ocean floor and desert conditions, layers of sediment were deposited each with different hues of color.
As you travel on Hwy 89A up Oak Creek Canyon, you get a close-up view of this erosion. The road for the most part follows Oak Creek until road and creek separate at West Fork. The creek carved West Fork beginning at the western edge of the Mogollon Rim. The highway continues to the right making it's final switch-backed ascent up the Mogollon Rim. Suddenly you are on the Colorado Plateau with it's vast stand of Ponderosa Pine -- the largest in the world.
When the first Native Americans arrived in the Sedona area, they sensed the extraordinary nature of the red rock formations. As they moved among these formations and the canyons between them, they were overcome with feelings of their ancestors. To the Native Americans, Sedona was a place to honor the past, live in the present and look to the future with hope. Many people still see Sedona in this way today.
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