Stone Eel
On January 24, 2023, taking a helicopter tour from Sedona, Arizona's mesa-top airport, we briefly hovered 0.28 miles (451 m) ESE of the eastern end of the rock formation known as "The Fin," elevation 5666 feet (1727 m). Resembling the dorsal fin of a long, westward-facing fish, the top edge of this slim, vertically ribbed wall stretches west-to-east 320 feet (98 m); and it stands 866 feet (264 m) above the surrounding terrain. Looking WNW (296°), the open area in the near background includes, successively, Mormon Canyon, Brins Mesa, and Soldier Pass. The medium-distance shady slope at the far left is the lower edge of Soldier Heights, followed to its right by its shorter, unnamed, northern companion, whose elevation is 5589 ft (1704 m) and whose distance from the camera was 2.6 mi (4.2 km). Starting at the left on the horizon: the first bump is Bear Mountain's northeastern peak, elev. 6562 ft (2000 m), 7.5 mi (12.0 km); the pointed triangular peak is Bear Mountain's northern pinnacle, elev. 6549 ft (1996 m), 7.8 mi (12.5 km); Secret Mountain, with red-rock arms extending camera-ward below it, elev. 6607 ft (2014 m), 7.0 mi (11.3 km); and Maroon Mountain, fronted by two large, sheer, pastel-peach cliffs separated by a shaded section, elev. 6666 ft (2032 m), 5.9 mi (9.5 km).
Stone Eel
On January 24, 2023, taking a helicopter tour from Sedona, Arizona's mesa-top airport, we briefly hovered 0.28 miles (451 m) ESE of the eastern end of the rock formation known as "The Fin," elevation 5666 feet (1727 m). Resembling the dorsal fin of a long, westward-facing fish, the top edge of this slim, vertically ribbed wall stretches west-to-east 320 feet (98 m); and it stands 866 feet (264 m) above the surrounding terrain. Looking WNW (296°), the open area in the near background includes, successively, Mormon Canyon, Brins Mesa, and Soldier Pass. The medium-distance shady slope at the far left is the lower edge of Soldier Heights, followed to its right by its shorter, unnamed, northern companion, whose elevation is 5589 ft (1704 m) and whose distance from the camera was 2.6 mi (4.2 km). Starting at the left on the horizon: the first bump is Bear Mountain's northeastern peak, elev. 6562 ft (2000 m), 7.5 mi (12.0 km); the pointed triangular peak is Bear Mountain's northern pinnacle, elev. 6549 ft (1996 m), 7.8 mi (12.5 km); Secret Mountain, with red-rock arms extending camera-ward below it, elev. 6607 ft (2014 m), 7.0 mi (11.3 km); and Maroon Mountain, fronted by two large, sheer, pastel-peach cliffs separated by a shaded section, elev. 6666 ft (2032 m), 5.9 mi (9.5 km).