Arizona's Amazing "Iron Oxide" Curtain

Arizona's Amazing "Iron Oxide" Curtain

Page Type Page Type: Album
Additional Information Image Type(s): Rock Climbing, Hiking, Flora, Informational, Scenery, Humor

So, why are the rocks red?

Abutting the southern edge of the Colorado Plateau, these landforms are red simply due to RUST.
Originating from the ancestral Rocky Mountains, a very thin layer of oxidized iron coats each grain of quartz sand in these
colorful sandstone formations surrounding Sedona, Arizona.

Somebody Spoke And I Went Into A DreamCourthouse Butte abuts the Colorado Plateau

Dancer ... Crossing The SkyClouds over Cathedral Rock




Over time, Eye Candy becomes very sandy!

Just a very small amount of iron oxide can produce vivid colors in soils and
rocks.
Although RED is the most common color, not all iron oxides are red.
Some are brown, yellow, black or even green - like some person's eyes.

Crumby and easily erodible, the formations you see here will eventually
SURRENDER to the sands of time.

WARNING ... WHILE these blazing rock images may resemble FIRE ON THE MOUNTAIN,

rest assured they can SHATTER like a fragile ... (yet beautiful) ... HEART OF GLASS!!!

Bell Rock s Spire Aspires The Spirit In MeBell Rock from the North

<i>Vertigo</i>The Flying Buttress

Rust Never Sleeps...

"Where the vulture glides descending,
On an asphalt highway bending,
Through libraries and museums, galaxies and stars.
Down the windy halls of friendship,
To the rose clipped by the bullwhip;
The motel for lost companions,
Waits with heated pool and bar.

But me I'm not stopping there,
Got my own row left to hoe.
Just another line in the field of time ..."

Neil Young (from Rust Never Sleeps) - 1979

Sandstone Towers After The StormJuniper Woodland south of Sedona
The stage is set for the formation of a natural arch near the Soldier Pass Trail!The stage is set for the formation of a natural arch near the Soldier Pass Trail.


Comments

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cp0915

cp0915 - Feb 25, 2009 1:38 pm - Voted 10/10

I love Sedona

Bagged quite a few peaks there too (though not as many as Andinistaloco has). Great pictures!

lcarreau

lcarreau - Feb 25, 2009 1:57 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: I love Sedona

Yes, I know you guys and gals have been out here bagging peaks.

I was attempting to put an "artistic" spin on the place. From now
on, I'll try my best to gather beta on these remarkable landforms.

Believe me, these red formations are really habit-forming!!
(I still haven't even touched the surface, yet!)

banzai.barbara - Feb 25, 2009 3:11 pm - Voted 10/10

yummy

thanks Larry for these "eye's candies". the RED ones are my favorite...I mean favOUrite...I mean...nevermind.
;-)
b.

lcarreau

lcarreau - Feb 25, 2009 3:41 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: yummy

No problem, woman of the caves! Interesting ... with all these
"eye's candies," I forgot to check and see if there were any caves.

How about a 'sinkhole?' Does a sinkhole qualify as being a cave?

RED is also my favourite! Red is a colour that always has a
sense of danger attached to it, and some say DANGER is what keeps
the old ticker (heart) healthy and alive and pounding! :-))

Scott Wesemann

Scott Wesemann - Feb 26, 2009 4:10 pm - Voted 10/10

Nice pics

Very cool. Good job.

lcarreau

lcarreau - Feb 26, 2009 4:55 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Nice pics

THANKS - it's not Lone Peak, the Pheifferhorn or Mount Olympus,
but guess it's colorful enough to be noticed here on SP.

mstender

mstender - Feb 28, 2009 9:41 pm - Voted 10/10

Amazing Colors!

Hey lcarreau, thanks for this really cool page. The colors on the pictures are just amazing. My favorite is the "Court of Crimson King" picture. Do you think I am biased because it is my favorite band? Anyway, I'll pop in the CD in my car tomorrow, crank it and then drive around thinking on your picture. GREAT JOB!
Matt

lcarreau

lcarreau - Mar 1, 2009 9:47 am - Hasn't voted

Re: Amazing Colors!

Hello, Matt:

No, I don't believe that anybody is biased on Summitpost! : )))

It was a free country, the last time I checked! Pop in whatever
you want - I just figured that the lyrics matched the photograph
of Courthouse Butte here in AZ.

At the risk of sounding modest, I just look at myself as the man
holding the camera. Nature and King Crimson does the rest !!!

Thanks, Matt ... and take care of yourself. -Larry

JDrake

JDrake - Mar 8, 2009 12:03 am - Voted 10/10

Good stuff!

Enjoyed these pics a lot.

lcarreau

lcarreau - Mar 8, 2009 10:38 am - Hasn't voted

Re: Good stuff!

Thanks, Jim! Please give my regards to Dean; I haven't heard from him in awhile. My wife & I are planning a trip to Utah in May.

lcarreau

lcarreau - Mar 23, 2009 10:06 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Wonderful...

What? For a second there, I thought you were thinking about
selling your wife.

Hold on - let me remove my sunglasses. Okay, that's better !!!
: ))))))))

Andinistaloco

Andinistaloco - Oct 22, 2009 10:17 pm - Voted 10/10

very nice!

Larry, these are some great pictures of Sedona. I had a good time checking them out and remembering hikes I've taken there, spires climbed, and the like. Even more interesting were the different names we've heard for the formations - for example, The Sphinx for Morning Glory spire! I'm sure I'll catch you down there some day - if I haven't already.

lcarreau

lcarreau - Oct 22, 2009 10:38 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Thank you...

Yes, already learned where Morning Glory spire, Gibraltar Rock and
Summit Block Rock are located.

I still need to visit Earth Angel and Queen Victoria.

Who am I to argue, but it DOES resemble The Sphinx!
For cryin' out loud ... the THING even winked at me !!! !

: )))

lcarreau

lcarreau - Oct 28, 2009 3:42 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Thank you...

Looks like the snow might be accumulating above 4,500 feet?

Almost time to capture some white stuff on red rocks!

Andinistaloco

Andinistaloco - Oct 28, 2009 6:39 pm - Voted 10/10

Re: Thank you...

Just started snowing here. First one of the year. Hmmm, we'll see. This could spoil my climbing plans!

lcarreau

lcarreau - Oct 28, 2009 9:51 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Thank you...

Then again, it could make things more "challenging" by adding an
icy sheen to the rocks !!! : )

Andinistaloco

Andinistaloco - Oct 31, 2009 9:43 pm - Voted 10/10

Re: Thank you...

Ugh. The rock down there's bad enough that I'm not worried about making things tougher. So, what's your catchy name for UN 5848? That's the one I did yesterday.

lcarreau

lcarreau - Oct 31, 2009 11:37 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Thank you...

How 'bout "Heaven's Gate," because it rhymes with 5848 and maintains the "New Age" theme? : ))

I went up to the base of Summit Block Rock the day after the
cold snap hit. I saw a couple people ascending; don't know if
they reached the top.

I'd like to go up Mormon Canyon to take some pics of Earth Angel!

EricChu

EricChu - Dec 30, 2009 6:23 pm - Voted 10/10

Wonderful!!!!!

Colors, structures, monumentality, light, contrasts - this album is a feast for the eye! Congratulations, Larry!!

lcarreau

lcarreau - Dec 30, 2009 8:32 pm - Hasn't voted

Re: Wonderful!!!!!

Not a problem, Eric.

Hmmmmm, did you say feast? Excuse me while I make another run for the refrigerator. : ))

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