Chuck Schneebeck Photography

In the Vermillion Cliffs National Monument in Arizona, just south of the border with Utah, is one of the most beautiful sandstone formations in North America, and perhaps the world, the Wave. It consists of two U-shaped troughs that have been eroded into the Navajo Sandstone formation of the Jurassic age. The troughs were originally eroded by water. Now they are eroded almost entirely by wind. The sandstone was formed from giant dunes that developed crossbedding due to changing prevailing winds over time. This resulted in layers in the sandstone that have different resistance to erosion. The wind takes away the softer material, leaving some beautiful patterns and textures. To see the text for each photo, view in full size.