Sedona, Arizona

thumb|The [[Chapel of the Holy Cross (Sedona, Arizona)|Chapel of the Holy Cross]]

Sedona ( ) is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census, Sedona had a population of 9,684. The city is within the Coconino National Forest.

Sedona's main attraction is its array of pink sandstone formations. The formations appear to glow in pink when illuminated by the rising or setting sun. The pink rocks form a popular backdrop for many activities, ranging from spiritual pursuits to the hundreds of hiking and mountain biking trails.

Sedona was named after Sedona Schnebly, whose husband, Theodore Carlton Schnebly, was the city's first postmaster. She was celebrated for her hospitality and industriousness. Her mother, Amanda Miller, claimed to have made the name up because "it sounded pretty".

History

Anglo-American settlement

The first European-American settler, John J. Thompson, moved to Oak Creek Canyon in 1876, an area well known for its peach and apple orchards. The early settlers were farmers and ranchers. In 1902, when the Sedona post office was established, there were 55 residents. In the mid-1950s, the first telephone directory listed 155 names. Some parts of the Sedona area were not electrified until the 1960s.

The area, then unincorporated, had no local government and was bisected by two counties. Growth increased after a resident discovered water. That meant area residents no longer had to transport water, and could directly build infrastructure.

Sedona began to develop as a tourist destination, vacation-home and retirement center in the 1950s. Most of the development seen today was constructed in the 1980s and 1990s. As of 2007, there are no large tracts of undeveloped land remaining.

Important early settlers included the Steele family, originally of Scotland.

Chapel of the Holy Cross

In 1956, construction of the Chapel of the Holy Cross was completed. The chapel rises out of a redrock cliff. The most prominent feature of the chapel is the cross. Later a chapel was added. Inside the chapel there is a window and a cross with benches and pews.

Cinematic legacy

Sedona played host to more than sixty Hollywood productions from the first years of movies into the 1970s. Stretching as far back as 1923, Sedona's pink rocks were a fixture in major Hollywood productionsincluding films such as Angel and the Badman, Desert Fury, Blood on the Moon, Johnny Guitar, The Last Wagon, 3:10 to Yuma and Broken Arrow. However, the surroundings typically were identified to audiences as the terrain of Texas, California, Nevada, and even Canada–US border territory. The town lent its name to the 2011 film Sedona, which is set in the community. Additionally, HIM, a film exploring the “reality” of reality dating television, was shot entirely in Sedona in 2023, and made its premiere at the Sedona International Film Festival in 2024.

Brins Fire

right|thumb|The Brins fire of 2006

On June 18, 2006, a wildfire, reportedly started by campers, began about north of Sedona. The Brins Fire covered on Brins Mesa, Wilson Mountain and in Oak Creek Canyon before the US Forest Service declared it 100 percent contained on June 28. Containment cost was estimated at $6.4 million.

Slide Fire

On May 20, 2014, a wildfire started from an unknown cause began north of Sedona at Slide Rock State Park. The Slide Fire spread across in Oak Creek Canyon over nine days and prompted evacuations. State Route 89A opened to Flagstaff in June, but all parking and canyon access was closed to the public until October 1, 2014.

Geography

thumb|right|West Sedona – Route 89A

Sedona is located in the interior chaparral, semi-desert grassland, Great Basin conifer woodland biomes of northern Arizona. Sedona has mild winters and warm summers.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of of which , or 0.22%, is water.

Flora

Sedona’s interior chaparral has many shrubs and small tree species of Quercus turbinella and Rhus ovata and a large population of Quercus palmeri. The Great Basin woodland has many small to medium trees of Pinus monophylla Var. fallax, Juniperus arizonica, Juniperus deppeana, Juniperus osteosperma, and Juniperus monosperma and a large population of Cupressus glabra. At higher elevations in Oak Creek Canyon Juniperus virginiana, Pinus edulis and other pines occur.

thumb|Oak Creek

Geology

The pink rocks of Sedona are formed by a unique layer of rock known as the Schnebly Hill Formation. The Schnebly Hill Formation is a thick layer of pink colored sandstone found only in the Sedona vicinity. The sandstone, a member of the Supai Group, was deposited during the Permian Period. Notable landforms in or around Sedona include the Seven Sacred Pools, Bell Rock, Capitol Butte, Cathedral Rock, Courthouse Butte, Devil's Kitchen Sinkhole, House Mountain, Two Nuns, and Wilson Mountain which is the highest.

Climate

Sedona has a cold semi-arid climate (BSk) and is a high desert. In January, the average high temperature is with a low of . In July, the average high temperature is with a low of . Annual precipitation is just over .

Demographics

thumb|[[Sedona Airport viewed from the south, showing its location atop Airport Mesa]]

Racial and ethnic composition

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;font-size: 95%"

|+Sedona city, Arizona – Racial composition

!Race (NH = Non-Hispanic)

!2010

!2000

!1990

!1980

|White alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |80% (7,750)

|81.6% (8,181)

|88% (8,967)

|93.7% (7,231)

|97.9% (5,368)

|Black alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.5% (50)

|0.5% (46)

|0.5% (49)

|0.3% (21)

|0% (0)

|American Indian alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.5% (49)

|0.5% (49)

|0.4% (45)

|0.3% (25)

|0.5% (29)

|Asian alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.4% (230)

|1.8% (182)

|0.9% (95)

|<td rowspan="2"> |0.5% (36)

|<td rowspan="2"> |0.4% (22)

|Pacific Islander alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0% (2)

|0.1% (7)

|0.1% (9)

|Other race alone (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.6% (58)

|0.1% (15)

|0.1% (7)

|0% (2)

|0% (0)

|Multiracial (NH)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |3.4% (332)

|1.1% (113)

|—

|Hispanic/Latino (any race)

|style='background: #ffffe6; |12.5% (1,213)

|14.3% (1,438)

|8.9% (907)

|5.2% (405)

|1.1% (62)

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Sedona had a population of 9,684. The median age was 62.6 years. 8.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 43.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 88.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 87.1 males age 18 and over.

94.9% of residents lived in urban areas, while 5.1% lived in rural areas.

There were 4,997 households in Sedona, of which 11.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 46.0% were married-couple households, 17.3% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 29.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 19.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

Sedona Marathon.
Sedona Miracle Annual Charity Fundraiser.
Sedona Hummingbird Festival.
The Sedona Solstice Festivals (summer and winter) at Unity of Sedona.

Arts organizations include:

Chamber Music Sedona chamber-music program.
Sedona Arts Center, founded in 1958, the oldest arts center in northern Arizona.
Sedona International Film Festival, established in 1995.
Greg Lawson Galleries.

A New Age tourist industry operates in Sedona, where José Arguelles organized the "Harmonic Convergence" in 1987. Some New Age proponents purport that "spiritual vortices" are concentrated in the Sedona area at Bell Rock, Airport Mesa, Cathedral Rock, and Boynton Canyon. The Sedona Wetlands Preserve is a popular area for birding.

Government

Politically, Uptown Sedona, the Gallery District and the Chapel area (all in Coconino County) and West Sedona (in Yavapai County) form the City of Sedona. Founded in 1902, it was incorporated as a city in 1988. The unincorporated Village of Oak Creek, to the south and well outside the Sedona city limits, is a significant part of the Sedona community.

In 2013, Sedona became one of the Arizona municipalities to approve of civil unions for same-sex partners.

Education

Sedona is in the Sedona-Oak Creek Unified School District. West Sedona School (Sedona-Oak Creek USD), serving grades K–6, is located at 570 Posse Ground Road. Sedona Red Rock High School (SRRHS), built in 1994, is located on the western edge of town in West Sedona. The school's mascot is the Scorpion. The high school's new campus, a series of single-story buildings, is located opposite the Sedona campus of Yavapai College. As of 2016, Sedona Red Rock High School holds grades 7–8 in the Junior High portion of campus.

Prior to the establishment of Sedona-Oak Creek USD, Flagstaff Unified School District included Sedona and operated the Sedona School. In the pre-1991 period some Sedona-area students attended Cottonwood-Oak Creek Elementary School District and Mingus Union High School District. The Sedona school district opened in 1991, taking territory and assets from Flagstaff USD. At the time, Sedona students continued to attend Flagstaff for high school.

Red Rock Early Learning Center is a year-round Preschool program designed for children aged 3–5 years old. Their normal school year runs from August to May each year, with a summer session offered during June and July. It is licensed by the ADHS, and located in West Sedona Elementary School building 300.

Verde Valley School, a boarding International Baccalaureate high school with many international students, is located between the Village of Oak Creek and Red Rock Crossing. It hosts numerous 'traditions' and performances open to the community. Their mascot is the coyote. Total attendance measures about 120 students per year, grades 9–12. Oscar-winning composer James Horner studied there (Titanic, Braveheart, Avatar, Legends of The Fall).

Sedona Charter School (SCS) is located behind the Sedona Public Library, serving as a Montessori-based school for grades K–8.

Yavapai College's Sedona Center for Arts & Technology includes the Sedona Film School, which offers certificates in independent filmmaking, the Business Partnership Program, the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, and the University of Arizona Mini Med School.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Sedona Airport is a non-towered general aviation airport located within the city limits. The nearest commercial airports are Flagstaff Pulliam Airport ( away), Prescott Regional Airport ( away), and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport ( away).

Healthcare

Verde Valley Medical Center – Sedona Campus is an outpatient facility providing 24/7 emergency services, cancer services, and primary and specialty healthcare to the Sedona/Oak Creek area. The facility is part of the Northern Arizona Healthcare system and is a subdivision of Verde Valley Medical Center in the nearby city of Cottonwood.

Cemeteries

Sedona's oldest burial ground is the Schuerman–Red Rock Cemetery, dating from 1893. Another pioneer cemetery is the Cooks Cedar Gate Cemetery, with an initial burial in 1918. The Sedona Community Cemetery, also known as Sedona Memorial Park, is on Pine Drive.

Notable people

<!-- NOTICE * * * NOTICE * * * NOTICE * * * * * * * * * * * *NOTICE * * * NOTICE * * * NOTICE• Only people who already have a Wikipedia article may appear here. This establishes notability.

• The article must mention how they are associated with the community, whether born, raised, or residing.

• The fact of their association should have a reliable source cited, or it should be stated in their Wikipedia article

• Alphabetical by last name please, within the appropriate category

• All others will be deleted without further explanation

END OF NOTICE * * * * * * * * * * * * END OF NOTICE * * * * * * * * * * * *END OF NOTICE -->

Robert Adams – American Advaita teacher
Samaire Armstrong – actress
Michelle Branch – singer/songwriter

Brandon Decker – singer/songwriter based in Sedona
Gail Edwards – actress
Max Ernst – surrealist and dadaist artist, brought international art world attention to Sedona when it was less than 100 people.
Justin Frankel – computer programmer
Kevin Geary – English portrait and abstract artist
Steve George – musician/songwriter (Mr. Mister)
James Gregory – television actor
James Horner – film composer (studied at the Verde Valley School in the 1970s)
Greg Lawson – American photographer, author, and publisher
Sagan Lewis – actress, former program director of the Sedona International Film Festival
Howard Madole – recognized as "Sedona's first architect", his influence is seen all over the city
Tom O'Halleran – U. S. representative
Israel Regardie – writer, occultist, and sometime secretary to Aleister Crowley
Dorothea Tanning – artist, writer, feminist art icon

In popular culture

In 1982 singer Donna Loren released the song "Sedona" on her own label, Royalty Records. The song was written by Loren while living in Sedona. James Burton produced the song with Loren, played guitar, and assembled other members of the Elvis Presley TCB Band: Ronnie Tutt (drums), Jerry Scheff (bass), and Glen D. Hardin (piano). Chris Hillman played mandolin. It was Loren's first recording since 1967, and subsequently appeared on her compilation, Magic: The 80's Collection.
A film titled Sedona was released in 2012. It was the first feature film to be shot entirely in Sedona since the 1970s when the heyday of Hollywood filmmaking in the area ended. The cast includes Frances Fisher, Seth Peterson, Barry Corbin, Christopher Atkins, Lin Shaye and Beth Grant.
The racing video games Forza Motorsport 3 and Forza Motorsport 4 feature the fictional track "Sedona Raceway Park".
In 1993, Sedona city officials refused to allow McDonald's restaurants in the city to use a yellow-colored "M" logo. They were concerned it would clash with the red rock of the city. McDonald's first choice as a replacement color, blue, was accepted by the city council. To this day, out of over 41,000 franchises, only the Sedona McDonald's has a blue "Golden Arches" logo.