Red Rocks of Sedona.
The famous Red Rocks of Sedona are one of the most beautiful natural sites in the United States. Part of the eroding Mogollon Rim of the vast Colorado plateau.
Sedona’s canyon walls show nine layers of stone from different geological periods spanning hundreds of millions of years. There are six layers of sandstone, two thin layers of limestone and atop all of these, one igneous layer of basalt stone. The different sandstone and limestone layers were formed by wind blown sand dunes or mud deposited by inland seas. The red colors of some of the sandstone layers are the result of iron oxide staining the rocks over great periods of time. The uppermost igneous layer was deposited by volcanic eruptions 14.5 million years ago and once covered the entire Verde Valley several meters deep in lava. Original public domain image from Flickr