Feathery grass shadows in Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, Utah
About this photograph
- Creator
- Margery H. Freeman
- Date created
- Unknown
- Location
- Near Kanab, Utah
- License
- This photograph copyright ©2008. All Rights Reserved
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Learn more
- Search LEARN NC for Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, dunes, Kanab, sand, sand dune, sandstone, Utah, Utah State Park, and Venturi Effect.
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Feathery grasses sprout from a rippled dune in Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park, in Kanab, Utah. They cast delicate, spidery shadows on the sand below. The sand is eroded from Navajo sandstone from the Middle Jurassic geologic period, and its hue is derived from the same iron oxides that color its parent rock.
The sand dunes are created by winds funneled through a notch between the Moquith and Moccasin Mountains that increases its velocity to the point that it can carry the grains eroding from the surrounding sandstone. This is known as the Venturi Effect. The wind’s velocity drops after passing through the notch, and it then deposits the sand, creating dunes in the valley.
The park is host to a variety of flora and fauna, included the Coral Pink tiger beetle, a species exclusive to the dunes.
