The Wave at Coyote Buttes Jul 17, 2022

The Wave at Coyote Buttes

By showing you this coveted sight, we"re saving you a bit of an ordeal. To get a close-up view of the Wave, a whorled sandstone formation in the northern Arizona wilderness, you"d have to navigate a rugged and mostly trail-free hiking route in typically scorching temperatures. You"d also need to have a permit in your pocket. To protect the landscape, only a small number of permits are available, offered through a daily lottery. But maybe for you the journey is at least as important as the destination? If so, this is just one hike of many in the expansive Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs National Monument, which protects more than 100,000 acres of Arizona and Utah canyonland.

© Dennis Frates/Alamy

palette

Today in History

Jul 17, 2018Is there a bug-egg emoji for this?
Jul 17, 2019Nomads of the Gobi
Jul 17, 2020Let s face it: It s World Emoji Day
Jul 17, 2021Pretty, pretty…butterfly?
Jul 17, 2023Cloughoughter Castle, County Cavan, Ireland
Jul 17, 2024Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Bavaria, Germany
Jul 17, 2025Lavender fields in Plateau de Valensole, France

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Feb 25, 2023Bryce Canyon National Park turns 100
Nov 26, 2018A little bit of Wonderland in New York City
Nov 22, 2025Leshan Giant Buddha, Sichuan, China
Oct 10, 2024Kochia, Hitachi, Ibaraki prefecture, Japan
Sep 12, 2024World Dolphin Day
Apr 20, 2021Terraced fields of green
Aug 10, 2018Assembling the Smithsonian
Aug 17, 2018Illuminations on the Gulf of Poets
Mar 15, 2024Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, California
Jul 9, 2021A center of antiquity on the Mediterranean
Jul 18, 2022Marine Day in Japan
Jun 12, 2024Big Bend National Park anniversary
May 19, 2021A path lain with petals
Jan 26, 2022India Republic Day
Sep 22, 2024Autumnal equinox
Dec 27, 2025Plate ice along Lake Superior, Grand Marais, Minnesota
Oct 14, 2023Ring of fire solar eclipse
Jul 14, 2023Shark Awareness Day
Oct 19, 2021These laurels are hardy
Sep 27, 2024Basilica of Santa Maria della Salute, Venice, Italy
Apr 14, 2023Mediterranean red sea stars
May 27, 2018Travel Sunday: San Francisco
Oct 8, 2023World Octopus Day
Oct 24, 2019Bridge of Hillsborough County
Aug 2, 2018The Aomori Nebuta Festival parade, Japan
Jul 7, 2025Northern gannets, Shetland Islands, Scotland
Jan 28, 2021Avatars of the Wolf Moon
Jul 31, 2019Go climb a tree
Jul 8, 2022Preveli Gorge
Jan 4, 2019Observing World Braille Day in Bavaria