Located in the stunning southwest of the United States, Sedona, Arizona has captured the hearts and fantasies of people for centuries.

Just southwest of Flagstaff, Arizona, Sedona is fringed by National Forests, and Mountain Wildernesses. Lying at the mouth of the wildly beautiful Oak Creek Canyon, it is a unique geological area that mesmerizes tourists of all sorts.

 The ancient Mogollon Rim (pronounced muggy-on) serves as the southwestern boundary of the vast Colorado Plateau, which extends into five other states.

The Colorado Plateau is home to the largest contiguous stand of ponderosa pine trees in the world, and the Coconino National Forest is 1.8 million acres of precious wilderness area.

Sedona visitors can spend the day hiking nature trails, biking, swimming, bird watching, camping, alpine snow skiing on the San Francisco Peaks, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, horseback riding, or ride on the off-road vehicle trails.

In the photo above you can see some of the geological layers deposited over millions of years.

Over 60% of tourists are attracted to the famous 'spiritual vortex' in this area. Centuries ago, native people established spiritual connections with this sacred land and its mystical properties. Today, people from around the world come seeking similar connections.

In the 1980's a locally based, internationally known psychic counselor expressed that even though 'hot spots' of natural energy are found all over the world, Sedona was an ideal site because all of the three known types of vortexes exist here.

These 'hot spots' are believed to create releases of the Earth's energy and evoke balance, a heightened sense of awareness, awakening of the spirit and even divine intervention. The four local points which are considered to be energy vortexes are Bell Rock, Table Top Mountain, Cathedral Rock and Boynton Canyon. They are some of the most visited and impacted sites in the National Forest.

The New Age movement hit its peak in Sedona in 1987 when thousands of believers descended on the town to witness the 'harmonic convergence' of the planets.

Geologically, it is a fascinating place.

1,700 million years ago the Precambrian mountains in the area may have looked like the Austrian Alps of today. 340 million years ago, the whole of the American Southwest was covered in a shallow sea.

In the piece of dolomite above you can see traces of marine life from that shallow sea eons ago. At this time, you could have had ocean front property in Arizona!

Limestone in the area is made up of sea life animal skeletons that lived in these ancient Arizona seas. Between 600 million and 200 million years ago, the Kaibab sea covered western North America from Montana to Texas. Fossil rich limestone and dolomite forms both the Kaibab layer which underlies the broad Coconino plateau and the rim rock at both the Grand Canyon and the Mogollon Rim above Sedona.

In the above photo of limestone, you can see a fossilized sponge.

The reddish element in the rocks is hematite, or iron oxide, a mineral found in great abundance in sedimentary rocks.

1000 years ago, primitive hunter-gatherers evolved into the Native Americans we know as Sinagua and other tribes. They farmed, fished and harvested wild desert plants like the yucca for medicine, fiber, food and soap. If you are interested in prehistoric rock art and ruins, visit the Palatki Red Cliffs or the V-Bar-V Heritage Site which has the largest known petroglyph rock art site in the Verde Valley.

The Southwest has distinctive landforms, a climate of extremes, scarce water and diverse plants and animals.

Animals in the area include elk, mule, white tail deer, antelope, mountain lion, turkey, squirrel, rabbit, bald eagles, osprey, various songbirds, and migrating waterfowl. The area offers challenges and possibilities to both man and animals.

Centuries after primitive man inhabited the area, homesteaders like J.J. Thompson claimed property under the Homestead Act. The earliest white settlers in the Upper Oak Creek area had taken squatter's rights to a parcel of land and built log cabins. More settlers followed coming to raise horses and cattle. Trails and cow paths in the canyon became dirt roads which attracted more people.

Early industry in Sedona was the raising of apples and peaches which were then sold at markets in Jerome, Cottonwood, Phoenix and Los Angeles.

T.C. and Sedona Schnebly purchased 80 acres and constructed a handsome house with two stone fireplaces. They grew fruit and produce, operated a general store and ran a hotel in their home. T.C. carted his fruit to sell in Flagstaff, and often returned with visitors who stayed at the hotel in his home. He would also pick up the mail for local residents and when they complained about slow and infrequent mail service, he filed an application for the establishment of a post office.

T.C. proposed several post office names but the Postmaster General in Washington rejected the names because they were too long to fit on a cancellation stamp. Dorsey Schnebly then suggested his sister-in-law's name, Sedona, because he felt that the character of this woman would 'stand well as a symbol for the community.'

Postal officials approved the name, and on June 26, 1902, the Sedona Post Office was in business - in the back of the Schnebly home.

Sedona's red rock formations and pinion-juniper landscape made an ideal setting for numerous Western movies, and many of the most popular movie "cowboys" made films here.

Moviemaking in Sedona began in 1923, and almost 100 feature films and countless video productions and commercials have been shot either in full or in part in the Sedona area. For three decades, Westerns were the most popular movies in America. From "shoot'em-ups" to romance, dramas, and the singing cowboy films. Today they still attract audiences from around the world.
 

In 1945, John Wayne came to town for his first stint as producer. Angel and the Badman costarred the beautiful Gail Russell.
Stars who worked here also include James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Sterling Hayden, Joan Crawford, Glenn Ford, Robert DeNiro, Robert Young, Hopalong Cassidy, Tyrone Power, Rock Hudson, Donna Reed, and hundreds of others.
 

The movie industry provided a small economic boom for the community as local residents were employed as carpenters, extras and livestock wranglers. Other new businesses cropped up to cater to the needs of movie crews.

The real cowboys are an important part of Sedona's heritage as well. Ranching was a major part of the area's economy in the early days, and continues in a modern form today.

Riding, roping and branding were not just rodeo sports to these hardy men and women. They moved their cattle around the Verde Valley and Mogollon Rim with the seasons and drove them to market. They made their own ropes and branding irons, and their meals were often cooked on the ground over an open fire.

The boom in Sedona tourism came in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Local ranchers sold property to developers. The orchards were transformed into homes designed for retirees while shopping centers and resorts were built for the many tourists flocking to the area. Tourism quickly surpassed agriculture in economic importance.

Sedona is also very popular among artists. It serves as a location for all different types of artistic interpretations. Hundreds of well-known artists have called the red rocks home. In 1950, surrealist painter Max Ernst moved to Sedona, and other famous artists followed.

No matter if you come for the ancient geological beauty, to see the prehistoric or native peoples' artwork, to enjoy the history of the American Southwest, to pursue a spiritual quest, to partake of fine cuisine and wine or to enjoy nature sports to the fullest, Sedona offers it all. Spas, restaurants, wine tastings, campgrounds, golf, day tours, psychic healings and massage.