The Wave is a sandstone rock formation in the Coyote Butts ravine of the Paria Canyon-Vermiliion Cliffs Wilderness near the Arizona-Utah border.

Formed into a massive and compact Navajo sandstone rock, The Wave consists of intersecting U-shaped sloping channels, hardened by deposition overtime since the Jurassic Age.  It is 62 feet (19 m) wide  by 118 feet (38 m) long and 7 feet (2 m) wide by 52 feet ( 16 m) long. Its revealing large-scale sets of cross-bedded sandstone stretches out vertically and horizontally into an unusual, one of a kind stratum created by slow wind and rain erosion.

The Wave is indeed a beautiful popular tourist attraction and destination. Its multi-colored swirled bands in red, yellow, green and cinnamon-color sandstone are blended together to form into castles, beehives, chutes and other structures.  The colors and shapes change with the light as the day progresses. The ideal time to take pictures and just simply to enjoy its grandeur is the few hours around midday when there are no shadows in the center. Those who go for a dramatic effect, early morning and late afternoon are ideal when shadows are casting in the sandstone. The best hiking conditions are found in spring and fall.

Summer heat is a remarkable snapshot.  It is certainly a photographer’s delight. It’s the greatest adventure for avid hikers who will encounter intense, strange, unreal and vertigo inducing experience as they travail along The Wave’s challenging troughs and ravines. sometimes temperatures reached 100 F although days are often mild and summer nights are cold.  Hiking can be pleasant during the warm periods in winter.

This wilderness is administered by the Bureau of the Land Management (BLM), part of the United States Department of the Interior. To visit The Wave, it requires a day-use permit from BLM and one has to make reservation months in advance.  It is challenging to find The Wave since there is no formal trail.  Hikers are given a formal guide sheet designed for use with compass, GPS or visual navigation.  There are six checkpoints each for the outbound hike to The Wave and the return to the trailhead.

Another similar place like The Wave is Antelope Canyon near Page in Arizona. The canyon is located in the territory of the Navajo Indians. You can visit only by guided tour.