The Wave, Arizona

The area near the Utah-Arizona line is a place of strange and delightful rock formations. In the Paria Canyon-Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness, the renowned Wave formation is made of Jurassic-age Navajo sandstone -- 190-million-year-old sand dunes turned to rock. Stacked one atop another, the dunes calcified in vertical and horizontal layers. (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

July 24, 2013 3:52 PM PT

Daniel Gradiska of New Zealand and Susie Shults of St. George, Utah, relax into the curves of the Wave. Only 20 people are allowed in to visit the area per day. (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

A lizard is among the dwellers of the desert region near Page, Ariz. (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

The tadpole shrimp lives in the vernal pools of the wilderness area. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the shrimp is considered a living fossil because its basic body characteristics have remained the same for millions of years. (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

Among other residents of the area’s vernal pools are tadpoles. (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

Tony Leonard of the Bureau of Land Management prepares hikers’ applications for the daily lottery for permits to enter the Paria Canyon-Vermillion Cliffs Wilderness. Visitors can walk in for the daily lottery, or they can apply online. (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

Thomas Wolbers of Santa Barbara is all smiles after winning the hikers’ lottery. (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)

Times staff writer Hugo Martín visited the Wave and described it this way: Close your eyes and imagine yourself walking into a humongous vat of cinnamon taffy. That’s what went through my mind as we entered this weird, dreamlike world of swirling colors and psychedelic patterns. Maybe it was the desert heat, but it all looked like gooey taffy, stretched over huge mounds and 50-foot canyon walls. (Spencer Weiner / Los Angeles Times)