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America’s National Parks

Puzzle 38 · The Rocky Mountains · Page 58 in print

Great Sand Dunes

Medano Creek is one of the few places in the world where one can experience surge flow, a stream flowing in rhythmic waves on sand.

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Children playing in a wave surging down a wide creek at the base of the dunes and mountains

Waves of surge flow travel down Medano Creek.

NPS/Patrick Myers · Public domain (U.S. federal government work) · Original record
Image changes

Resized and converted to JPEG for display; no subject alteration.

A teen girl and her toddler brother walk along the edge of Medano Creek during peak flow in late spring. A surge flow wave is moving in front of them, and another one is approaching farther up the creek. Above the creek are the dunes and a snowy mountain.

Medano Creek carries sand along the edge of the dunefield.

NPS/Patrick Myers · Public domain (U.S. federal government work) · Original record
Image changes

Resized and converted to JPEG for display; no subject alteration.

The words

  1. Antidunes

    Antidunes, the temporary sand dams involved in Medano Creek's surge flow.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  2. Hidden Dune

    Hidden Dune, one of the named tall dunes in the dunefield.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  3. High Dune

    High Dune on First Ridge, the named dune on the dunefield's first ridge.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  4. Medano Creek

    Medano Creek, the creek flowing along the dunefield.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  5. Mosca Pass

    Mosca Pass Trail, the hiking trail along Mosca Creek.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  6. Mount Herard

    Mount Herard, the dome-shaped mountain above the dunes named for the Herard family.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  7. Music Pass

    Music Pass, the mountain pass providing access to the national preserve.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  8. Pinyon Flats

    Pinyon Flats, the park campground recorded in its management plan.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  9. San Luis Valley

    The San Luis Valley, the Colorado valley containing the dunes.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  10. Sandboarding

    Sandboarding, the recreational activity of riding a board down the dunes.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  11. Star Dune

    Star Dune, a named tall dune in the park's main dunefield.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  12. Surge Flow

    Surge flow, the rhythmic waves formed as water flows across the creek's sand bed.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  13. Tiger Beetle

    The Great Sand Dunes tiger beetle, the endemic insect associated with the dunes.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  14. Tijeras Peak

    Tijeras Peak, a high summit within the park and preserve.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

  15. Zebulon Pike

    Zebulon Pike, the explorer whose expedition visited the dunes area in 1807.

    National Park Service (opens a new tab)

Sources

  1. Medano CreekNational Park Service
  2. Star DuneNational Park Service
  3. Frequently Asked Questions - Great Sand Dunes National Park & PreserveNational Park Service
  4. Mammals - Great Sand Dunes National Park & PreserveNational Park Service
  5. Herard Homestead - Great Sand Dunes National Park & PreserveNational Park Service
  6. Plants - Great Sand Dunes National Park & PreserveNational Park Service
  7. Final General Management Plan/Wilderness Study/EIS - Chapter Three: Affected EnvironmentNational Park Service
  8. National Monument and National Park Status - Great Sand Dunes National Park & PreserveNational Park Service
  9. Zebulon Pike - 1807 - Great Sand Dunes National Park & PreserveNational Park Service

How we choose sources and photographs