Sedona Dawn
by Jon Burch Photography
Title
Sedona Dawn
Artist
Jon Burch Photography
Medium
Photograph - Digital Capture/digital Painting
Description
The red rocks of Sedona show layers of time in the rock strata. This view is from one of the pull off's near Bell Rock in Oak Creek. Located just at the base of the Mogollon Rim, the red rocks form an escarpment that runs east-west through the middle of Arizona and defines the boundary between the Colorado Plateau to the north, and the Basin and Range to the south. The Mogollon Rim is about 200 miles long, and ranges between 2000 and 3000 feet in height. But in the Sedona region, erosion has gradually eaten away at the rim, moving it northward a distance of about four miles and leaving behind some of the most spectacular and picturesque canyons and buttes found anywhere in the world.
The deep red color for which Sedona is famous is due to the presence of hematite or iron oxide, staining the sandstone of Schnebly Hill and Hermit Shale layers. The steep terrain is due the top layers of the strata being composed of basalt and limestone, which are both harder than the underlying sandstone. Water running off the edge of the escarpment dissolves the lower layers, creating the steep cliffs. Eventually enough soft material is broken down and eroded, undercutting the cap layer, subsequently breaking it off in large slabs allowing it to fall into the canyons. This process exposes new softer material and the process repeats, with the cliff face about twenty feet further north than it was before.
The red rocks themselves were formed by a layer of rock known as the Schnebly Hill Formation. Schnebly Hill is a thick layer of red to orange-colored sandstone, and a member of the Supai Group, which was deposited during the Permian Period about 299 to 251 million years ago. Approximately 800 to 1000 feet thick, Schnebly Hill is the major component of Sedona's well known "Red Rocks" visible in the area.
The Schnebly Hill formation is comprised of the Sycamore Pass and Bell Rock members, which are separated by a ten to twelve foot thick layer of grey-colored limestone called the Fort Apache Member, formed during a major incursion of an ancient Sea. There are no fossils in the Schnebly Hill sandstones, and virtually none in the thin limestone layers.
Digital brush stroke and effects were added after the original photograph was made. Image copyright Jon Burch Photography
Uploaded
March 5th, 2013
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Viewed 1,719 Times - Last Visitor from Fairfield, CT on 04/25/2024 at 9:05 PM
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Comments (29)
Luther Fine Art
Congratulations! Your fantastic photographic art has been chosen as a Camera Art Group feature! You are invited to archive your work in the feature archive discussion. There are many other discussions in the group where you can promote your art even further more.
Beverly Stapleton
This beautiful image has been chosen to be featured in the "Landscape Art" group. Thank you for sharing
Silvio Ligutti
Absolutely beautiful! Looking forward to returning to this area next year!
Jon Burch Photography replied:
Thank you very much Silvio! Stop in at the camera shop and say 'Hi' to my friend Tom while you are down there...
Joyce Dickens
This is so dynamic and well done Jon..... this totally ROCKS - pun intended :-))
Jon Burch Photography replied:
Heh, a good way to start the day with a chuckle! Thank you very much Joyce!!
Chad Dutson
Amazing color!
Jon Burch Photography replied:
Thank you Chad! It's getting harder to get up early with the time change this weekend, but this was worth it.
Dale Ford
Jon, your work is so vibrant with color. I love your ability to capture the play of light on your beautiful subjects. v'd
Bonita Hensley
I was there before but I have a better camera this time!
Jon Burch Photography replied:
Cool! Be sure you stop in to see the "Exposures International" gallery! It's AWESOME!!