<P> Coordinates: 36 ° 59 ′ 45.84" N 112 ° 00 ′ 21.9" W ﻿ / ﻿ 36.9960667 ° N 112.006083 ° W ﻿ / 36.9960667; - 112.006083 </P> <P> The Wave is a sandstone rock formation located in Arizona, United States near its northern border with Utah . The formation is situated on the slopes of the Coyote Buttes in the Paria Canyon - Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness of the Colorado Plateau . The area is administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) at the Grand Staircase - Escalante National Monument visitor center in Kanab, Utah . </P> <P> The formation is well--known among hikers and photographers for its colorful, undulating forms and the difficult hike required to reach it . Due to the fragile nature of the formation and the large number of people wishing to visit it, a daily lottery system is used to dispense only ten next--day permits in person at the Kanab visitor center . Additionally, ten online permits for each date are available four months in advance of a planned trip . A map and information about the hike is supplied to those who have obtained permits . </P> <P> The Wave consists of intersecting U-shaped troughs that have been eroded into Navajo Sandstone of Jurassic age . The two major troughs which comprise this rock formation are 62 feet (19 m) wide by 118 feet (36 m) long and 7 feet (2 m) wide by 52 feet (16 m) long . Initially, infrequent runoff eroded these troughs along joints within the Navajo Sandstone . After their formation, the drainage basin, which fed rainwater to these troughs, shrank to the point that the runoff became insufficient to contribute to the cutting of these troughs . As a result, the troughs are now almost exclusively eroded by wind, as indicated by the orientation of erosional steps and risers cut into the sandstone along their steep walls . These erosional steps and risers are oriented relative to the predominant direction of the wind as it is now naturally funneled into and through these troughs . </P>

How do you get to the wave in arizona