Cathedral Rock is a natural

sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

butte In geomorphology, a butte ( ) is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and table (landform), tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from the French l ...

near

Sedona, Arizona Sedona ( ) is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino County, Arizona, Coconino and Yavapai County, Arizona, Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 United States Census, ...

, and one of the most-photographed sights in

Arizona Arizona is a U.S. state, state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States, sharing the Four Corners region of the western United States with Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. It also borders Nevada to the nort ...

, United States. The

rock formation A rock formation is an isolated, scenic, or spectacular surface rock (geology), rock outcrop. Rock formations are usually the result of weathering and erosion sculpting the existing rock. The term ''rock Geological formation, formation ...

is located in the

Coconino National Forest The Coconino National Forest is a 1.856-million acre (751,000 ha) United States National Forest located in northern Arizona in the vicinity of Flagstaff, with elevations ranging from 2,600 feet to the highest point in Arizona at 12,633 feet (H ...

Yavapai County Yavapai County ( ) is a county near the center of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, its population was 236,209, making it the fourth-most populous county in Arizona. The county seat is Prescott. Yavapai County comprises the Pr ...

, about west of Arizona Route 179, and about south of the "Y" intersection of State Routes

179 Year 179 (Roman numerals, CLXXIX) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Veru (or, less frequently, year 932 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination ...

and 89A in uptown Sedona. The summit elevation of Cathedral Rock is . The Cathedral Rock trail (

USFS The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. It administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's ...

Trail #170) is a popular short, steep ascent from the Back O' Beyond trailhead to the saddle points or "gaps" in Cathedral Rock. Geologically, Cathedral Rock is carved from the

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years, from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.902 Mya. It is the s ...

Schnebly Hill formation The Schnebly Hill Formation is a section of red bed deposits found at the Colorado Plateau, near Sedona, Arizona. It is a dark red sandstone, from to thick. It lies between Coconino Sandstone and the older Hermit Formation. It is near the Supa ...

, a

redbed Red beds (or redbeds) are sedimentary rocks, typically consisting of sandstone, siltstone, and shale, that are predominantly red in color due to the presence of ferric oxides. Frequently, these red-colored sedimentary strata locally contain t ...

sandstone formed from coastal

sand dunes A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

near the shoreline of the ancient Pedregosa Sea.

Ripple marks In geology, ripple marks are sedimentary structures (i.e., bedforms of the lower flow regime) and indicate agitation by water ( current or waves) or directly by wind. Defining ripple cross-laminae and asymmetric ripples * ''Current ripple ...

are prominent along the lower Cathedral Rock trail, and a black

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

dike may be seen in the first saddle. Cathedral Rock was called "Court House Rock" on some early maps, and Courthouse Butte was called "Church House Rock", which has caused endless confusion ever since. File:Cathedral Rock at Red Rock Crossing.jpg, Cathedral Rock from Red Rock Crossing File:Cathedral rock sedona arizona 2.jpg, These saddle points or "gaps" may be reached via the steep Cathedral Rock trail. File:Red Rock State Park, AZ.jpg, Cathedral Rock from

Red Rock State Park Red Rock State Park is a state park of Arizona, United States, featuring a red sandstone canyon outside the city of Sedona. The main mission of this day-use park is the preservation of the riparian habitat along Oak Creek. Red Rock State Park ...

References

External links

"Cathedral Rock Trail"

. * {{cite summitpost , id=152506 , name=Cathedral Rock Sedona, Arizona Buttes of Arizona Rock formations of Arizona Landforms of Yavapai County, Arizona Protected areas of Yavapai County, Arizona

See also

References

External links