Western Australia · Attraction
Wave Rock
Ancient granite surf wave
schedule 1 min read / Updated Jun 2026
Towering 15 metres high and stretching more than 110 metres long, Wave Rock is one of Australia's most striking geological landmarks. Formed over 2.7 billion years through weathering and water erosion of the Hyden Rock granite inselberg, its sweeping multicoloured face of striped granite curves upward like a frozen ocean wave about to break over the surrounding scrubland.
Wave Rock sits about 3 kilometres east of the town of Hyden in Western Australia's eastern Wheatbelt, roughly 340 kilometres southeast of Perth. Visitors can walk from the car park to the base of the rock in a few minutes, then follow the trail up and along the top of the formation for panoramic views across the flat farmland stretching to the horizon.
The rock's streaked walls get their distinctive colouring from mineral-rich water trickling down the granite face over millennia, depositing dark carbonate and iron oxide stains in flowing vertical bands. A short concrete catchment wall at the base was built in the 1950s to direct rainwater runoff into a storage dam used by the town of Hyden.
Wave Rock hosts a popular music festival each spring, and the surrounding area blooms with native wildflowers between August and October. A network of marked walking trails links the rock to nearby formations including Hippo's Yawn and The Humps.
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