Sand Dunes of the Sahara in North Africa
Do you know where you can find the most spectacular and dynamic landform on the planet? Yes, you will find this large sand dune in the North Africa, the Sahara Dissert. Its measure is approximately 3,000 miles from east to west and between 800 and 1,200 miles from north to south with total area of some 3,320,000 square miles.
How do these dunes form? Sand dunes are formed because individual sand granules accumulate through both water and wind transportation, and this process known as saltation. Because of the transversely wind’s direction, individual saltating granules form small ripples and as more granules collect, dunes are form.
There are many types of sand dunes, the first and most common shape is known as crescent sand dunes. These were form along the same direction as the predominant winds and have a single slipface. The second is linear dunes, these are straight and often in the form of parallel ridges. Third is reversing dunes that result from sand dunes that are impacted by win that reverses direction. Fourth are star dunes, pyramid-shaped and have three or more sides. Lastly is called as complex dunes which comprised of smaller dunes in different types.
These natural sand dunes are really interesting and awe-inspiring isn’t it?