Great Sand Dunes National Park - a photo on Flickriver

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The dunes were formed from sand deposits of the Rio Grande and its tributaries, flowing through the San Luis Valley. Over the ages, westerly winds picked up sand particles from the river flood plain. As the wind lost power before crossing the Sangre de Cristo Range, the sand was deposited on the east edge of the valley. This process continues, and the dunes are slowly growing. The wind changes the shape of the dunes daily.

There are several streams flowing on the perimeter of the dunes. The streams erode the edge of the dune field, and sand is carried downstream. The water disappears into the ground, depositing sand on the surface. Winds pick up the deposits of sand, and blow them up onto the dune field once again.

Digging a few inches into the dunes even at their peaks reveals wet sand. If the streams were to dry up, the dunes would disappear; in fact part of the motivation of turning the Monument into a National Park was the extra protection of the water, which Colorado's cities and agriculture covet. -Wikipedia

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Taken in: United States / Colorado / Alamosa (show map)

Taken on: June 5, 2008

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Sets appears in: • Most Interesting • 30D

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Camera: Canon EOS 30D, f/4.0, 18mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon EOS 30D
Aperture:	f/4.0
Focal Length:	18mm
ISO:	200
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3.5 (Macintosh)
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