Montezuma Castle 

& Tuzigoot 

National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Montezuma Castle National Monument 

and Tuzigoot National Monument

Have you read a good book lately? Skilled geologists can read the riveting stories 

preserved in stone. In the Verde Valley, this story is 1.82 Billion Years Old. 

And you thought War and Peace was a long book! 

The Black Hills along the south and west (the photo above), exposes our oldest 

Precambrian rocks. Some of these rocks contained the copper ore that made Jerome a 

booming mining town from 1880s until the 1950s. This site bulletin will focus on the 

80 million year story of how the Verde Valley was formed.

Earth’s Ancient Stories 

Survive in Stone!

Geology of the Verde Valley

Long before 

Humanity, 

powerful forces 

shaped this land

If you were here 80 Million Years ago, you would be underneath a mile of 

sedimentary rock! The power of water has vastly changed this land. There was a 

large mountain range at present day Phoenix and Prescott, AZ. North flowing 

rivers eroded these mountains and rock layers that contained dinosaur fossils.

The Power of Water 

Destroys Mountains 

and Carves New Cliffs 

Three chapters of time shaped the landscape surrounding us in the Verde Valley: 

1. Erosion, 2. Tectonics and 3. Deposition. 

Chapter One: Erosion is the breakdown 

of rock and soils mostly by water. 

As the tens of millions of years pass, the 

Ancestral Mogollon Highlands 

disintegrate. Sedimentary rock erodes 

away and a cliff (Ancestral Mogollon Rim) 

recedes gradually to the north. 

Currently this “Mogollon Rim” is receding 

north 1 foot every 625 years. At this rate 

the Mogollon Rim at present-day Sedona, 

will be at downtown Flagstaff, AZ in 79 

million years!

80 - 65 MYA

During the Late 

Cretaceous, 

Dinosaurs Still 

Roam the Earth

80 MYA 

Laramide Orogeny, 

Mogollon Highlands & 

Rivers Flow North

40 - 30 MYA 

The Ancestral Mogollon Rim Forms & 

The Ancestral Verde River Flows South

E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C ATM
Stone Tells a Story 

of Past Landscapes & 

Past Life-Forms

Chapter Three: Deposition includes the settling of sediment & volcanic materials.

15 million years ago widespread volcanic activity in the area created the lava Flows of the 

“Hicky Formation” that can be seen topping the Black Hills & the eruption of the House 

Mountain shield volcano southwest of present-day Sedona, AZ. 

Evidence of a series of lakes and marshes in the valley are exhibited by 3,ooo feet of limestones and siltstones deposited here. Numerous veretibrate fossils have been discovered 

within these sedimentary layers. The Ancestrial Pueblo culture called Sinagua had taken 

avantange of the wonderful caves, sinkhole-springs, and rocky summits of the Verde 

Formation for shelter, water and excellent vistas. Your own eyes can behold these pages 

of time at Montezuma Castle, Montezuma Well and Tuzigoot National Monuments! 

How will the story be told in future chapters?

Verde Valley Records 

a Story Within a 

Giant Layer-Cake

Hickey Basalt

Martin 

Limestone

Tepeats Ss

Precambrian

Metamoephics

& Igneous 

Verde Limestone

Kaibab Ls

Toroweap

Coconino 

Sandstone

Schnebly Hill 

Sandstone

Hermit Shale

Supai Group

Red Wall Limestone

Martin Limestone

Tepeats Sandstone

House Mtn

Red Wall 

Limestone

Black Hills (Southwest) (Northeast) Mogollon Rim

Tuzigoot

Montezuma 

Castle

Montezuma 

Well

Sedona

Jerome

This is a stratographic cross-section of the Verde Valley. The two opposite facing black 

arrows represent the Verde Fault, which separates the Black Hills and the Verde Valley. 

Montezuma Castle, Montezuma Well & Tuzigoot National Monuments are on the ancient 

lake deposits called the Verde Formation (limestone, gravels, silt, clay, salts & travertine).

Earth’s Forces Build 

New Mountains 

& Valleys

Chapter Two: Tectonics are the Earth’s 

surface movement exhibited by earthquakes & mountain building here. 

“Basin and Range” Tectonics cause the 

Verde Valley to sink down and the Black 

Hills the the southwest to rise.

A Basin is formed and the Ancestrial Verde 

River becomes sluggish, causing a series of 

marshes and lakes to form.

Though people were not yet present here, 

there were many other facinating mammals 

abounding at this time... 

Relatives of the mammals still present in Africa and Asia once existed here in the Verde 

Valley. In North America, large mammals known as Mega-Fauna became extinct shortly 

after humans arrived 12,000 years ago. Possible causes were hunting, disease or climate.

8 - 2 MYA

Verde Valley 

Faults Down 

& A Series of 

Lakes

Seeing Pages of Time 

With Your Own Eyes

& the Story Goes On!

E X P E R I E N C E Y O U R A M E R I C ATM