Sand Dunes of the World Part 1
Sand dunes are found throughout the world, reaching from coastal areas into far away arid deserts. Perhaps the great Sahara desert of Africa, called the harshest desert on earth, is the one most well-known. For lack of space we will, however, just look at a few in North America. Many of these are beautiful, with their rippled surfaces, piles of sand several hundred feet high, having sloping sides that look like they were carved out with a huge scoop.
Sand dunes are restless, but the whole dune doesn’t move at one time. Its changes are the result of individual grains of sand, blown by the wind up to the top of an existing formation and then spilling down the other side. In heavy winds this blowing sand looks like a thin sheet of water coming off the top. In this way a dune “travels” and will sometimes cover a roadway, a farmer’s land and gardens, or bury a forest of tall trees. But more often the wind changes direction after a while and blows the sand back to its original point or somewhere nearby.
Many of the North American sand dunes are along the Atlantic Coast, from Florida to New England, including the one called “Florida Scrub.” This one is composed of age-old dunes formed by sand blown in from the ocean over many, many years. Those farther north include some in the Cape Hatteras area. Those on Assateague Island and on up to Long Island and Cape Cod are equally interesting. Others which are popular are on some shores of the Great Lakes and down along the Gulf of Mexico.
One of the largest areas of this kind is known as the Algodones Dunes —more than 50 miles long stretching between California, Arizona and Mexico, with some mounds of sand up to 300 feet high. Another spot for large dunes in the same state of California is at Death Valley where one group of dunes, named Eureka Dunes, rises some 700 feet above the hot desert. Actually California has 12 principal dune areas: the Nepomo Dunes near Pismo Beach on the Pacific Ocean is one of outstanding beauty and interest.
The Bible verse above speaks of a foolish man building his house on sand, and when the storms came it fell, because the sand was not solid. But two verses before that tell us of a wise man building his house safely upon a rock where storms could not harm it.
This is something to really think about. It reminds us that as we go through life we need a good foundation which can only be found if we know the Lord Jesus as our Saviour. Trusting in Him gives us a sure foundation, not only for this life, but for that which is to come. Are you building your life on that precious Rock, or are you building your life on sand?
ML 02/04/1990