Photography Spot1963

Wave Rock

A 15-metre-high granite wave formation in Hyden, Western Australia, sculpted by 2.7 billion years of weathering into a perfect frozen wave shape.

Wave Rock Road, Hyden WA 6359

Then & Now

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Historical View

1963

1963
Today
Wave Rock
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The story of this place

Wave Rock is a natural granite rock formation shaped like a towering breaking ocean wave, rising approximately 15 metres above the surrounding flat bushland. The rock is part of a 160-hectare nature reserve and is a mulga shrubland of the Yilgarn Craton — one of the oldest land surfaces on Earth at approximately 2.7 billion years old. The distinctive striped colours of the wave are created by water dissolving minerals in the granite and depositing them in vertical streaks over millennia. Golden hour light from the west enhances the warm tones of the granite bands. A low angle from the base looking upward emphasises the sheer scale of the formation. The rock face is 110 metres long, allowing multiple compositions.