Chapter 18

Both Hawaii and Sedona are huge tourist attractions. Although Hawaii is more popular and has more visitors. Hawaii is a tourist attraction because it has the perception of being a tropical paradise. Sedona has many reasons it is a tourist attraction which are discussed in the previous posts. In Hawaii the increase in visitors resulted in economic growth on the mainland and the need for larger aircraft. In Sedona the increase in visitors has resulted in a major growth in tourism business's and economic growth. About four million visitors pass through Sedona each year.  In 2007 about 7.6 million visitors passed through the Hawaiian Islands.

Websites used:
http://sacredsites.com/americas/united_states/sedona_facts.html
http://www.govisithawaii.com/2009/07/30/hawaii-fact-28-of-50-how-many-people-visit-hawaii-each-year/

Chapter 16

Another interesting attraction of Sedona is the beautiful Chapel of the Holy Cross. It is a Roman Catholic chapel built into Sedona's mesas. In 2007, Arizonans voted the Chapel to be one of the Seven Man-Made Wonders of Arizona. "The first conception came to Marguerite Bruswig Staude in 1932 in New York City while observing the newly constructed Empire State Building. When viewed from a certain angle a cross seemed to impose itself through the very core of the structure." "She traveled throughout Europe looking for the ideal location. She returned to the United States and while her and her husband Tony traveled through Sedona, she was struck by the beauty of the area and decided that this chapel should be built here."

Websites used:

https://www.chapeloftheholycross.com/store/shopcontent.asp?type=History 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chapel_of_the_Holy_Cross 

Chapter 15

One of the similarities between California and Sedona is the climate. Both have hot summers and mild winters. Both are dry and have very little rain. Also they are both located on the Western part of the United States and both have some area also in the Empty Interior. Although Arizona is entirely inside the Empty Interior and California is only partly inside the Empty Interior. One of the big differences between Sedona and California is the ocean access. California is on the coast line so the population has easier access to the beach and ocean. Sedona and Arizona do not have that access. They have river beaches but not ocean beaches.

Chapter 14

Sedona is part of the Southwest Border Area. As discussed in the lecture there are American Indian Reservations in this area. One of the largest reservations is the Hopi reservation which is not very far from Sedona. From Sedona there are many tours that include the Hopi reservation. It is a 3 hour drive to get from Sedona to the Hopi reservation. The Hopi reservation has a total population of 6,946 and a density of 2.7/sq mi. The Hopi consider their life on the reservation an integral and critically sustaining part of the "fourth world." In particular the traditional clan residence, the spiritual life of the kivas on the mesa, and their dependence on corn.

For more information about the Hopi people and their reservation please visit:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hopi_Reservation

Chapter 13

Sedona Arizona is located in the Empty Interior. Its low average population density is the key identifying feature of the region. The Empty interior stretches from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains westward to the Sierra Nevada of California, to the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest and into Alaska, is the largest area of sparse population in America. Sedona's landscape reflects the region's description very well;  one of the region's main physical geographic elements is its ruggedness. "Most of the mountains of the eastern United States appear rounded and molded; the ranges of the West present abrupt, almost vertical slopes, and the peaks frequently appear as jagged edges pointing skyward. This difference is due partly to age. Most of the western mountains, although by no means all of them, are substantially younger than the eastern ranges. Thus erosion, which results in an eventual smoothing of the land surface, has been active for a much shorter time." Any visitor can see the layers of erosion in the mountains. Here are some pictures showing the layers.

http://countrystudies.us/united-states/geography-18.htm

Chapter 12

Sedona is located at (34.859897, -111.789199) in the Upper Sonoran Desert of northern Arizona. Sedona's  summers that are often described as being, "not as hot as Phoenix." Where Phoenix is known for its high temperatures ranging from a high of 66 degrees in December to a high of 106 degrees in July. "The famous red rocks of Sedona are formed by a layer of rock known as the Schnebly Hill Formation. The Schnebly Hill Formation is a thick layer of red to orange-colored sandstone found only in the Sedona vicinity. The sandstone is thought to have been deposited during the Permian period."

Website used:

http://phoenix.about.com/od/weather/a/averagetemps.htm

Chapter 11

Another beautiful attraction of Sedona is the Slide Rock State Park. "Named after the famous “Slide Rock”, a favorite swimming spot of the Arizona desert-dwellers who flock to this water recreation area to escape the desert heat. As elevation falls, Slide Rock becomes a natural water chute as swimmers slide down the slick "water slide" for about a third of a mile and repeat the excitement over-and-over." Slide rock, a stretch of slippery creek bottom adjacent to the homestead, is a natural water park. This swim area is located on National Forest land. These areas been in many Hollywood movies such as "Broken Arrow" (1950) with James Stewart, "Drum Beat" (1954) with Alan Ladd and Charles Bronson, "Gun Fury" (1953) with Rock Hudson and Donna Reed, and a scene from "Angel and the Badman" (1946) with John Wayne.

Websites used:

http://www.dreamsedona.com/slide-rock-state-park.html

 http://azstateparks.com/parks/slro/index.html

Chapter 10

In addition to Sedona's beautiful red rocks, Sedona has a creek that flows through it. Oak Creek provides a refreshing way to cool down in Arizona's heat. Oak Creek Canyon is a river gorge located along the Mogollon Rim in northern Arizona between the cities of Flagstaff and Sedona. This creek is a huge attraction to all visitors. Oak Creek is a tributary of the Verde River and carved the Oak Creek Canyon.  Tourists can also go on river rafting trips to the Verde River. 

For more information on the geography and geology of Oak Creek click on the following link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak_Creek_Canyon

Chapter 9

The Abraham Lincoln Exhibit recently visited the Sedona area on November 21st through December 19th of this past year. This exhibit uses Abraham Lincoln's own words and speeches to encourage visitors to see the real person in all of us. "Interestingly, one of the catalysts for the Civil War was the Dred Scott Decision in 1857. Dred Scott, a slave who at one time lived on the property that is now Oakwood University, petitioned the Supreme Court for his freedom. This request was denied on the grounds that he was a slave, and not entitled to the rights (for example, the right to sue in federal courts) of an American citizen. This decision resulted in increased abolitionists’ efforts and escalated anti-slavery sentiments, which eventually led to the Civil War."

Chapter 8

Many local farmers are trying to encourage local agriculture. There is a weekly farmers market in Sedona were the local fresh fruit is sold. Even in the winter they are able to offer "local honey, red and yellow chards, collard greens,carrots, beets, bokchoy, jerusalem artichoke, dill, cilantro, red potatoes, dandelion, savoy cabbage, onions, kale, turnips, radishes, scallions, broccoli, butternut squash, AZ citrus, pecans, hummus, chicken/turkey/duck/emu eggs, organically grown, bare root, ever bearing strawberry and raspberry plants, hand-made pasta, grass-fed beef, hummus, AZ mesquite flour (gluten-free), baked goods, scissor and small tool sharpening service, worm castings, locally adapted seeds, health tonics, chocolates, jams and jellies goat milk lotion and much more!" These farmers feel that local agriculture is important because it helps the economy, community, the buyers health, and the environment. They provide more information at http://sedona-farmers-market.com/.

Chapter 7

Sedona has hosted more than sixty Hollywood productions from the first years of movies into the 1970s. Sedona's view and rocks are in numerous movies such as Johnny Guitar, Angel and the Badman, Desert Fury, Blood on the Moon and 3:10 to Yuma. 

Chapter 5

One interesting resource that Sedona has is it's cosmic essential oils. Many shops have used these essential oils in healing creams, massage oil, home made medicines and many more products. Another interesting natural resource in Sedona that people travel all over for is its vortex or vortexes. Many believe that vortexes are created by spiraling spiritual energy. These vortexes allow a person to access and heal his or her inner self. Many visitors come to pray, meditate and acquire healing either of the body or mind.

Chapter 4

Sedona is not a metropolitan community. It is very spread out. The homes and neighborhoods are smaller than city neighborhoods. The homes have more property than city homes. It is a smaller city that is usually busiest during the tourist seasons. The ethnicity in Sedona is majority white. There are 81.7% white, 13.1% hispanic, 5.2% other. The home sales in Sedona have gone down significantly. The difference between home values in 2011 and home values in 2006 is about $200,000. Unemployement has also changed over the years; it's rate has gone up.

Chapter 3

Among the first to live in Sedona were the several different Indian tribes. There are many native American Indian and Spanish remains in Sedona such as Tuzigoot Pueblo and Montezuma's Castle. Tuzigoot Pueblo is Apache for "crooked water". The people who lived there were the Sinagua people's which is Spanish for "without water". The Montezuma's Castle (near Sedona) is a settlement built into the cliffs above Beaver Creek. There are tours that explore these areas and view the remains.

Sedona was first discovered by European settlers in 1853. These Euporeans were in search of spices and found Sedona instead. It was claimed by J.J. Thompson. Other settlers joined him to raise horses and cattle. Later Sedona was used farming and orchards. The roads they built attracted more people to Sedona.

Chapter 2

An interesting geographic piece of Sedona is Devil's Kitchen Sinkhole. A sinkhole, also known as a sink, snake hole, swallow hole, swallet, doline or cenote, is a natural depression or hole in the Earth's surface caused by karst processes - the chemical dissolution of carbonate rocks or suffosion processes for example in sandstone. This sinkhole can even be seen from satellites taking pictures of the earth's crust (picture below).

There have been numerous geological studies done on this sink hole. One of the interesting things about this sinkhole is the fact that it does not contain limestone unlike most sink holes. There is more information at  http://www.azgs.az.gov/arizona_geology/winter09/article_devilskitchen.html about the geological explorations and findings of the Devil's Kitchen Sinkhole.





Another interesting fact about Sedona is the color change in the rocks. There are layers of different colors on all of the mountainous rocks seen in Sedona. Millions of years ago Sedona was a delta under the sea. The erosion that these rocks have gone through in the past millions of years have resulted in deposits of iron from the water. This iron causes the rocks to have a red color. The sedimentary rocks allow geologists and viewers to see the past ecosystems and environments that once resided in Sedona.

Chapter 1

Sedona's location is 34 degrees 51 minutes 36 seconds north and 111 degrees 47 minutes 21 seconds west. It is in the Upper Sonoran Desert of northern Arizona. It's elevation is 4,500 feet. Visitors to Sedona will see mild winters and summers. This small city of 10,031 residents has a total area of 18.0 square miles. This city enjoys a high desert climate. The average temperatures range from 31 degrees to 57 degrees in the winter and averages 64 degrees to 97 degrees in the summer.

According to 2010 Population Growth and Population Statistics the total population of Sedona is 11,236 with a population density of 69.70. The population growth since 1990 is 54.62% and since 2000 is 10.24%. The population based on gender is similar. There are approximately 5,323 males and 5,913 females.

Since Sedona is a famous tourist attraction the main income of the city is is retail sales. They have numerous travel options, such as the pink jeep tours. The majority of this income is from food and beverage (28%) at $53,876,000 and food services (23%) at $45,075,000.