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Great Sand Dunes National Monument.(The Southwest)
- Article from:
- Great American Wilderness: Touring America's National Parks
- Article date:
- January 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Hunter Publishing, Inc. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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If there's one thing that most people don't associate with the forested mountains of Colorado, it's the desert. Well, the Great Sand Dunes isn't exactly a desert, but it might as well be because the dunes, which measure as high as 700 feet, will block the mountains from your view when you're at their base.
How the Dunes Developed
It's really quite simple. Winds blow sand across the San Luis Valley, but the sand is too heavy to be lifted above the towering peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Range. Instead, it settles at the bottom and, over millions of years, evolved into the golden sand dunes that you see today.
Facts & Figures
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