Oak Creek, a tributary of the Verde River, flows along the bottom of the canyon, and is one of the few perennial streams in the high desert region of northern Arizona. Oak Creek is largely responsible for carving the modern Oak Creek Canyon, although movement along the Oak Creek Fault, a long north–south normal fault line, is thought to have played a role as well. Oak Creek has an elevation of just north of Sedona to at the northern terminus of the canyon.