  We propose a general method to study the solutions to nonlinear QCD evolution
equations, based on a deep analogy with the physics of traveling waves. In
particular, we show that the transition to the saturation regime of high energy
QCD is identical to the formation of the front of a traveling wave. Within this
physical picture, we provide the expressions for the saturation scale and the
gluon density profile as a function of the total rapidity and the transverse
momentum. The application to the Balitsky-Kovchegov equation for both fixed and
running coupling constants confirms the effectiveness of this method.
