Sand Dunes - Land-Locked
Sand dunes form wherever environmental conditions provide sand, steady wind and a location for the sand to collect. This may occur in both coastal and terrestrial settings.
Land-Locked Dunes
Sand starts as bedrock, which is broken down into blocks, a size at which water is able to transport them downstream. Eventually these large blocks may be jostled around enough to be broken into sand-sized grains. Sand and other sediment usually ends up deposited along the sides of streams, in lakes, or in the ocean, but what happens when it doesn't? An ephemeral, or seasonal stream, during its dry periods, is exposed to wind. Occassionally a lake will dry up, with its sediment left without the protection of water. These two sources feed land-locked dune fields.
There are many examples of terrestrial dune fields within the National Park Service system. Listed below are Parks containing land-locked dunes. Click here to learn more about dune formation and coastal systems.
Terrestrial Dunes
Sand dunes form wherever environmental conditions provide sand, steady wind and a location for the sand to collect. This may occur in both coastal and terrestrial settings.
Land-Locked Dunes
Sand starts as bedrock, which is broken down into blocks, a size at which water is able to transport them downstream. Eventually these large blocks may be jostled around enough to be broken into sand-sized grains. Sand and other sediment usually ends up deposited along the sides of streams, in lakes, or in the ocean, but what happens when it doesn't? An ephemeral, or seasonal stream, during its dry periods, is exposed to wind. Occassionally a lake will dry up, with its sediment left without the protection of water. These two sources feed land-locked dune fields.
There are many examples of terrestrial dune fields within the National Park Service system. Listed below are Parks containing land-locked dunes. Click here to learn more about dune formation and coastal systems.
Terrestrial Dunes
- Death Valley National Park, California
- Geology of Death Valley - Stovepipe Dunes
- Photo Tour of Death Valley - Ibix Dunes click here to see in 3D
- Photo Tour of Death Valley - Stovepipe Dunes click here to see in 3D
- Great Sand Dunes National Monument, Colorado
- Great Sand Dunes geology website - NPS site
- Great Sand Dunes photo album - NPS site
- Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska
- Kobuk Valley Dunes description - NPS site
- Mojave National Preserve, California
- Geology of Mojave National Preserve - Kelso Dunes
- White Sands National Monument, New Mexico
- Geology of White Sand Dunes - NPS site
- Geology Fieldnotes of White Sand Dunes - NPS site