The Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve was originally established in 1932 to preserve the unique sand dunes and surrounding landscape from development. It was renamed and elevated to National Park status in 2003. The park covers over 84,000 acres and contains the tallest sand dunes in North America, some reaching over 750 feet high. The dunes were formed from sand deposited by ancient lakes and rivers and shaped by wind patterns over thousands of years. In addition to the dunes, the park features mountains, forests, wetlands, and alpine lakes.

1. Geo 111-501
Brian Narum
Front Range Community College

2. Picture National Parks Service, Last updated
4/21/2012. Park History
Park was originally named Great Sand
Dunes National Monument in 1932. It
was preserved by residents of
Alamosa so that gold mining and
cement makers would not decimate
the area. It was renamed Great Sand
Dunes National Park and Preserve in
2003 and named a National Park. It
covers 84,997 acres and contains the
the highest dunes in North America
Location: 37°43′58″N 105°30′44″W some rising up over 750 feet. It is high
11999 Highway 150 Mosca, CO 81146- desert that sits in the San Luis Valley.
9798 In addition to the sand dunes it also
has alpine lakes, 6 mountain peaks
Located in Alamosa County in Colorado. that exceed 13,000 feet, wetlands,
The nearest city is Alamosa in the South and pine and spruce forests. To the
Western part of Colorado.
east of the park boarders the Sangre
De Cristo Mountain Range.

3. Pictures from National Parks Service
Formation of the Great Sand Dunes Last updated 4/21/2012
The theory on how the sand dunes formed is based
on research from 2007 called On the origin and age of
the Great Sand Dunes, Colorado by R. Madole. After a
large volcano exploded leaving a large crater and large
deposits of ash. The San Juan mountains were created
after that from rifting and rotation of plates. The crater
became a lake from the rain and snow deposits and fed
through water migration to the lake. The lake dried up
and left behind the sand sheet that makes up the dry
lake bed. The loose material creates the dunes from the
predominant winds. However the reason that they grow
to such great heights is the storm winds that blow across
the mountain range, causing the dunes to grow vertically.
The predominant winds also die out as they come over
the mountain range. This keeps the sand and material in
the valley and the sand recycling in the process. Making
these dunes the largest in North America. New material
is fed through two seasonal rivers the Medano and Sand
Creeks. Material flows away from the sand dunes and is
deposited. When the creeks dry up for the season the
material now can be recycled back into the sand dunes.
http://www.nps.gov/grsa/naturescience/sanddunes.htm

4. Singing sand dunes are not unique
Singing Sand Dunes to just the Great Sand Dune National
Park and Preserve. It can be repeated
by anyone and no one. The singing of
the dunes is caused by slope failure of
the angle of repose. The dune has an
avalanche of sand that causes air
around the sand to be compacted and
causes the audible sounds that can be
heard in link below. The avalanche can
be caused by people like that in the
picture or caused by the wind blowing
hard enough to get the sand moving
like that as pictured. The sounds can be
created by just a little bit of sound or
can be very loud with the more sand
the more movement of air it creates. It
is just like how the speakers in your car
work. As the subwoofer of your speaker
moves with the electric impulses from
your stereo it vibrates the air around it
into waves. The waves are then picked
http://www.nps.gov/grsa/naturescience/sanddunes.htmup by your ears and converted back
into electric signals that your brain can
interpret.

5. “Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.” A
Resources Reference and Travel Guide for the Rocky
Mountain States. Accessed April 02, 2012.
http://sangres.com/sanddunes.
National Parks Service. Accessed April 02,
2012.
http://www.nps.gov/grsa/planyourvisit/maps.
htm.
"Great Sand Dunes National Park." Wikipedia.
Accessed April 02, 2012.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
Great_Sand_Dunes_National_Park.
"Alamosa Convention and Visitors Bureau -
Great Sand Dunes National Park."
Alamosa Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Accessed April 02, 2012. http://
www.alamosa.org/things-to-do/scenic-
Madole, R., J. Romig, J. Aleinikoff, D. Vansistine, wonders/the-great-sand-dunes.
and E. Yacob. "On the Origin and Age of "Great Sand Dunes National Park." National
the Great Sand Dunes, Geographic. Accessed April 02,
Colorado."Geomorphology 99, no. 1-4 (2008): 2012.http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/
99-119. doi:10.1016/j.geomorph. travel/national-parks/great-sand-dunes-
2007.10.006. national-park/.