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Encyclopedia > Eureka Valley Sand Dunes
Location of the Eureka Valley Sand Dunes within California

The Eureka Valley Sand Dunes are located in the southern part of Eureka Valley, in northern Inyo County in eastern California, in the southwestern United States. Although covering an area of only 3 square miles (8 km²), the dunes rise approximately 600 feet (180 m) above the surrounding valley floor, making them one of the highest dune fields in North America. Eureka Valley is located in Inyo County, in eastern California in the southwestern United States. ... Inyo County is a county located in east-central California, on the east side of the Sierra Nevada south of Yosemite National Park. ... Official language(s) English Capital Sacramento Largest city Los Angeles Area  Ranked 3rd  - Total 158,302 sq mi (410,000 km²)  - Width 250 miles (400 km)  - Length 770 miles (1,240 km)  - % water 4. ...

The Eureka Valley Sand Dunes, looking south.
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The Eureka Valley Sand Dunes, looking south.
The Eureka Dunes, looking west.
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The Eureka Dunes, looking west.
Patterns in the Eureka Dunes after a rain storm.
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Patterns in the Eureka Dunes after a rain storm.

Accessed via a gravel road in Eureka Valley (which connects to a road running from Big Pine to the Grapevine section of Death Valley), the dunes became part of the Death Valley National Park as part of its expansion in 1994. Foot travel in the dunes is permitted, but vehicle access is prohibited. A primitive campground is located at the north end of the dune field. Big Pine is a census-designated place located in Inyo County, California. ... Death Valley and Panamint Range The salt lake at Badwater, Death Valley is the lowest point in western hemisphere. ... Death Valley National Park is a mostly-arid United States National Park located east of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Inyo County, California with a small extension and exclave (Devils Hole) in Nye County, Nevada. ...


The Eureka Dunes are the home of several unique (and protected) plant species. The Eureka Dune Grass (Swallenia alexandrae), the Eureka Evening Primrose (Oenothera avita eurekensis), and the Shining Locoweed (Astragalus lentiginosus micans) are only found in this area. Visitors to the dunes may also experience other unique aspects of these dunes. In dry weather, slipping of the sand can produce a 'booming' sound. Conversely, in wet weather, patterns can be seen in the sand that reveals its diverse sources, and the complex eolian process by which these dunes are formed (and re-formed). Singing sand or barking sand is sand that emits sounds of either high or low frequency under pressure. ... Eolian (or aeolian) processes pertain to the activity of the winds. ... Mesquite Flat Dunes in Death Valley National Park In physical geography, a dune is a hill of sand built by eolian processes. ...


Sand dunes also exist in Death Valley near Stovepipe Wells. Stovepipe Wells is a small way-station in the northern part of Death Valley, California. ...


See also

Deep Springs Valley is a high desert valley in the Inyo-White Mountains of Inyo County, California, in the eastern part of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. ...

External links


  Results from FactBites:
 
Singing and Booming Sand Dunes - A (3105 words)
Sand at the Kelso Dunes traveled 35 miles (56 km) from the delta area of the Mojave River where it emptied into the Pleistocene lake basin now occupied by Soda Dry Lake east of Afton Canyon, the terminus of the Mojave River.
Dunes and sand fields which did not emit the booming sounds characteristic of other well-developed terminal dunes have been visited by the authors and by Haff (1979).
The dunes in Long Valley are a very localized phenomenon, generated by a blow-out of playa deposits derived from the carbonate bedrock which bounds the valley on both east and west.
  More results at FactBites »


 
 

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