Baking in the Sun - a photo on Flickriver

Baking in the Sun

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, Colorado

Unless you knew otherwise, it’s surprising to find that the tallest sand dunes in all of North America are in Colorado. None of the 4 largest deserts in North America even cross into Colorado. But the conditions were just right for a permanent dune field to form in the San Luis Valley at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains over 10s of thousands of years. Here you will find the highest dune at over 740 feet (226m), from base to top. These dunes may not look that tall here, but this shot is from over a mile away.

In fact, in 2020 Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve crowned a new High Dune, the Hidden Dune now at 742 feet tall. Previous to Hidden Dune, the Star Dune was tallest but strong winds have eventually whittled it down from its highest at 755 feet to second place at 741 feet. Yet eventually, Star Dune may gain its title back as the dunes keep being refreshed by alternating opposing winds and the action of several important creeks.

The silver line you see here at the base of the dunes is the shallow and wide Medano Creek. It forms a key part of the complex system that keeps bringing sand back to the “windward” wide of the dune field, as it carries sediment from the leeward side back to the valley floor and then disappears into the sand sheet, leaving its deposits to dry and be picked up by the wind again. In a way, the park is Colorado’s “giant hourglass”.

Aperture priority, tripod, Lee ND and CPL filters, Capture One Pro post-processing.

Selected for FLICKR Explore February 5, 2021, # 42.

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

Taken on: August 12, 2019

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Camera: Nikon D7200, f/22.0, 1/25 sec, 18mm (=27mm), ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D7200
Lens:	18-300 mm f/3.5-6.3
Aperture:	f/22.0
Exposure Time:	0.04 sec (1/25)
Focal Length:	18mm (35mm equivalent: 27mm)
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Capture One 20 Macintosh
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