It was first thought that smoke from Temple Butte, was due to a lightning strike fire, but later was found to be the result of the mid-air collision.

The Redwall Limestone is seen prominently below the East Rim, and is the cliff-forming shelf upon which the redbeds of the Supai Group accumulate.

The prominence of Temple Butte is composed of the upper unit of the Supai Group, ("redbeds"), the cliff-former, Esplanade Sandstone.

The Supai Group sits on the platform, upper surface of the Redwall Limestone, on Cambrian rock units below.

And below that are the short cliffs of Tapeats Sandstone, (typically bordering gorges and the Colorado River), famous for making the Tonto Platform, above the 1,000-million year old Great Unconformity of lost time, and eroded rock units.