dunes
Desert's shifting terrain
Dunes are hills or ridges of sand shaped by wind.
They form along coastlines and in deserts, where wind piles loose sand into characteristic slopes—gentle on the windward side, steeper where sand cascades down.
Dunes migrate slowly as wind moves sand from one face to the other.
We climbed the dunes to watch the sunset over the beach.
CGS work unit
- camelHumped desert mammal
- caravanTraveling group with goods
- nomadHomeless wanderer by choice
- sandstormWind-driven desert grit
sirocco · scorching · sunbaked · arid · barren · vastness · solitude · mirage
Narrow raised strip
- crestHighest point or tuft
- hummockLow earthen mound
- knollSmall rounded hill
- moundHeaped earth formation
drift · bank · ripple · transverse · parabolic · star · windward · leeward
erg
CGS work unit
sandstorm · sirocco · scorching · sunbaked · arid · barren · vastness · solitude · mirage · tumbleweed
ridge
Narrow raised strip
mound · drift · bank · ripple · transverse · parabolic · star · windward · leeward · formation
windblown
Displaced by gusts
erosion · shifting · drifting · ripple · sculpted · shaped · migration · movement · dynamic · transient
beach
Sandy waterside margin
seagrass · sandcastle · tide · waves · surf · driftwood · footprints · erosion · barrier · seabreeze
- desertsand, ergs, erg, Sahara, Gobi
- beachessandy beach, sandy beaches, rocky beach, pebble beach, public beach
- European natureAlps, Pyrenees, Carpathians, Balkans, Mediterranean
- Middle EastIraq, Baghdad, Cairo, Iran, Jordan
- ArabiaSaudi Arabia, Mecca, Medina, Kaaba, Riyadh
- arid landscapesdesert, badlands, salt flat, cracked earth, dry lake bed
dunesflat terrain
Level, even ground
level ground · flatlands · plains · salt flats · hardpan
- sand duneWind-formed sand mound
- dune buggyOpen vehicle for beaches
- dune buggiesOff-road beach vehicles
- coastal dunesSand formations near shores
- beach dunesSandy ridges near shore
- desert dunesWind-shaped arid landforms