A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat regions covered with wind-swept sand or dunes, with little or no vegetation, are called ergs or sand seas. Dunes occur in different shapes and sizes, but most kinds of dunes are longer on the stoss (upflow) side, where the sand is pushed up the dune, and have a shorter slip face in the lee side. The valley or trough between dunes is called a dune slack.
Singing sand, also called whistling sand, barking sand, booming sand or singing dune, is sand that produces sound. The sound emission may be caused by wind passing over dunes or by walking on the sand.
Indiana Dunes National Park is a national park of the United States located in northwestern Indiana managed by the National Park Service. It was authorized by Congress in 1966 as the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore and was redesignated as the nation's 61st national park on February 15, 2019. The park runs for about 20 miles (32 km) along the southern shore of Lake Michigan and covers 15,349 acres (6,212 ha). Along the lakefront, the eastern area is roughly the lake shore south to U.S. 12 or U.S. 20 between Michigan City, Indiana, on the east and the Cleveland-Cliffs steel plant on the west. This area's conservation scheme is enhanced by the older Indiana Dunes State Park. To the west of the steel plant lies West Beach and a small extension south of the steel mill continues west along Salt Creek to Indiana 249. The western area is roughly the shoreline south to U.S. 12 between the Burns Ditch west to Broadway in downtown Gary, Indiana. In addition, there are several outlying areas, including Pinhook Bog, in LaPorte County to the east; the Heron Rookery in Porter County, the center of the park; and the Hoosier Prairie State Nature Preserve and the Hobart Prairie Grove, both in Lake County, the western end of the park.
Sandboarding is a boardsport and extreme sport similar to snowboarding that involves riding down a sand dune while standing on a board, with both feet strapped in. Sand sledding can also be practised sitting down or lying on the belly or the back. It typically involves a sand sled, although it is also somewhat possible to use snow sleds or snowboards. The invention of modern sandboarding is largely attributed to Lon Beale, aka 'Doctor Dune', who began sandboarding in 1972 in California's Mojave Desert. Sandboarding has adherents throughout the world, but is most prevalent in desert areas or coastal areas with beach dunes. It is less popular than snowboarding, partly because it is very difficult to build a mechanised ski lift on a sand dune, meaning participants must climb or ride a dune buggy or all-terrain vehicle back to the top of the dune. On the other hand, dunes are normally available year-round as opposed to ski resorts, which are seasonal.
The Forvie National Nature Reserve is a national nature reserve owned and managed by NatureScot. It is located north of Newburgh in Aberdeenshire, in the northeast of Scotland. The reserve includes the Sands of Forvie, which are the fifth largest sand dune system in Britain, and the least disturbed by human activity. The dune system is an integral part of the Ythan Estuary, which also forms part of the reserve, and separates the sands from Balmedie beach.
Land sailing, also known as sand yachting, land yachting or dirtboating, entails overland travel with a sail-powered vehicle, similar to sailing on water. Originally, a form of transportation or recreation, it has evolved primarily into a racing sport since the 1950s.
Camber Sands is a beach in East Sussex, England, in the village of Camber, near Rye. It is the only sand dune system in East Sussex. Located east of the estuary of the River Rother at Rye Bay, it stretches 3 miles (4.8 km) to just beyond the Kent border, where shingle (pebbles) take over again. It is one of three stretches of sand above the high tide mark east of Poole Bay on England's south coast, the others being West Wittering and Avon Beach. Two holiday resorts near Camber Sands were operated by Pontins and Parkdeans resorts, just off New Lydd Road and Lydd Road, respectively, in the adjoining village of Camber.
Huanchaco is a popular seaside resort city in province of Trujillo, Peru. Huanchaco is known for its surf breaks, its caballitos de totora and its ceviche, and is near the ancient ruins of Chan Chan. Huanchaco was approved as a World Surfing Reserve by the organization Save The Waves Coalition in 2012 This historic town is part of the tourist circuit called the "Moche Route" or "Ruta Moche".
Lancelin is a small fishing and tourist town 127 km north of Perth, Western Australia. It is within the Shire of Gingin at the end of Lancelin Road, and a few kilometres away from the scenic highway Indian Ocean Drive.
The Lost Ship of the Desert is the subject of legends about various historical maritime vessels having supposedly become stranded and subsequently lost in the deserts of the American Southwest, most commonly in California's Colorado Desert. Since the period following the American Civil War, stories about Spanish treasure galleons buried beneath the desert sands north of the Gulf of California have emerged as popular legends in American folklore.
Carcross Desert, located outside Carcross, Yukon, Canada, is a series of sand dunes. The Carcross Desert measures approximately 2.6 km2 (1.0 sq mi), or 259 ha.
Since the 2000s, Tourism in Peru has made up the nation's third largest industry, behind fishing and mining. Tourism is directed towards archaeological monuments, ecotourism in the Peruvian Amazon, cultural tourism in colonial cities, gastronomic tourism, adventure tourism, and beach tourism. Iperú is the Peruvian national tourist office.
Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of soil or soil type; i.e., a soil containing more than 85 percent sand-sized particles by mass.
Volcano boarding or volcano surfing is a sport performed on the slopes of a volcano. One of the most popular places for the activity is the Cerro Negro near Leon in western Nicaragua. Riders hike up the volcano and slide down, sitting or standing, on a thin plywood or metal board. The sport is also practiced on Mount Yasur on Tanna, Vanuatu; Mount Bromo in Indonesia; and very few other locations.
The Samalayuca Dune Fields, more traditionally known as Los Médanos, or more recently referenced as Médanos de Samalayuca are a series of large but separated fields of sand dunes located in the northern part of the Mexican state of Chihuahua. The dune fields are scattered over a wide expanse of desert to the south, southwest and southeast of Ciudad Juárez. The dune fields are located in a 2000 km2 area known as the Samalayuca Desert.
Inland dunes are eolian sand dunes that are found inland, away from coastal regions.
Xiangshawan, also known as Whistling Dune Bay and by other names, is a AAAAA-rated tourist area in the Dalad Banner of Ordos Prefecture in Inner Mongolia, China. Amid China's general campaign to combat desertification, the mostly unreclaimable site in the Gobi's Kubuqi Desert was developed as the country's first desert-themed tourism resort. It now consists of four "islands" of activities located around the Sand Dune Resort. Mongolian folk culture is displayed, and annual cultural events include an International Photography Week and a sand sculpture festival. Most popular during the summer, Xiangshawan is currently developing a ski resort to attract tourists during the winter months as well.
