in The Second Wave.

The Lower Jurassic Navajo Sandstone preserves the largest erg in Earth’s history. Of all Navajo Sandstone outcrops, the Coyote Buttes is renowned for stunning coloration and outcrop features including The Wave — where vivid colors accent aeolian cross strata to resemble a cresting ocean wave.
Red, orange, pink, purple, yellow, brown and white colors document a complex history of chemical interactions between iron enriched fluids and ground water — concentrating or removing iron oxide grain coatings and cement within the sandstone. Coloration patterns are influenced by sedimentary textures and tectonic structures at microscopic to outcrop to regional scales