(click on for slideshow)
The Wave is a sandstone rock formation located near the Arizona and Utah border on the slopes of the Coyote Buttes, in the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, on the Colorado Plateau. It is famous among hikers and photographers for its colorful, undulating forms, and the rugged, trackless hike required to reach it.
Made of Jurassic-age Navajo Sandstone that is approximately 190 million years old. Scientists who study The Wave say that the old sand dunes turned into hard compacted rock over the ages, calcifying in vertical and horizontal layers. Erosion by wind and rain has created the spectacular landscape which appears now.
The soft sandstone of The Wave is fragile, one needs to walk carefully to not break the small ridges. In order to limit damage to the fragile area, the Bureau of Land Management -BLM limits access to the North Coyote Buttes Wilderness Area to just twenty permits per day.
Ten of the permits are available in advance by an on-line lottery conducted four months before the month for which the permit is sought. Remaining ten permits are made available by lottery the day before one's intended hike at the Paria Ranger Station on highway 89 west of Page, Arizona.
We have applied a couple of times for a permit, but so far have been unsuccessful.
The Wave, Arizona - Wikipedia
