Recent satellite measurements from TIMED, DMSP, ROCSAT, COSMIC, and CHAMP revealed that the ionosphere density and vertical drift often show wave-3 and/or wave-4 patterns in longitude. The wave‐4 structure is clearly distinguishable during equinox and northern hemisphere summer. During northern hemisphere winter, the density structure can be characterized by the wave‐3 structure. Signatures of the wave plasma density structure emerge at local time earlier than 0900. The wave structure is established before noon and further amplified in the afternoon. The daytime wave structure persists into the night during the equinoxes but is significantly modified during the solstices. The modification is more significant at higher altitudes and is attributed to the effects of inter-hemispheric winds and the pre-reversal enhancement. The formation of the wavelike density structure in the morning and its temporal evolution in the afternoon shows a close association with the vertical E × B drift. These wave structures are also found to extend from the F-peak height to 840 km altitude and beyond. DE3 tide is suggested as the source of the ionospheric wave-4 structure, but the source of the ionospheric wave-3 structure has not yet clearly understood. In addition to the wave-4 and wave-3 structures, the wave-1 and wave-2 structures are significant ionospheric features. We examine the persistence of ionospheric tidal structures and their superposition effect.