Goodness, Sedona definitely has its geology. They say 'somewhere' around here and the Verde Valley you can almost see every major geological period at the surface. Amazing.

Some of us Christians interpret this in terms of creation 'days'. Others of us are satisfied with creation 'billions of years'. Either way, we both agree on the source!

First off, what causes the redness in the sandstone? It's oxidized-iron or rust! You're in the rust-belt! In the late permian period, when most of the Sedona-area rocks were deposited, the mountains in Colorado where slowly eroding (known as the ancestral rocky mountains, pre-dating the current ones). The eroded material had a high iron content. If you're south of Las Vegas, northwest Texas, or even Colorado Springs, you can see the same red permian layer. Here, you're literally looking at left-over Colorado! And we're keeping it!

You're actually right below the edge of what is called the 'Colorado Plateau', which stretches north into Utah, Colorado and upwards to southern Idaho. When you climb the switch-backs in Oak Creek canyon, you're climbing up on top of the plateau. It's unique, being a 'geological island' that has 'floated' intact for maybe 600m years! That's why many of the layers you see here can also be seen at the Grand Canyon and even up in Idaho.

We've graciously (!) created four tours for your geological pleasure:

UPTOWN DISPLAY
Your spouse taking too much time shopping?! Take a look at the geology wall next to the Uptown restrooms (behind Uptown Mall). Paul Lindberg created a rock wall showing Sedona's geologic layers.

CREATION
Don't you find it interesting that the Genesis creation sequence is so similar to science? Were early-day scientists as smart as today's? Or, maybe God might be involved?