Do you know any fun facts about Great Sand Dunes National Park? Great Sand Dunes National Park is located on the eastern edge of the San Luis Valley in south-central Colorado. This water and wind driven eco-system is a spectacular natural wonder that is filled with wetlands, forests, tundra, alpine peaks, wildlife, and of course sand dunes.
![Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve | By U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters (Southern Rockies LCC) [CC BY 2.0 or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](http://mountainjourney.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Elk_at_Big_Spring_Creek_Great_Sand_Dunes_National_Park.jpg)
Let’s look at some fun facts about Great Sand Dunes National Park:
- On March 17, 1932, President Herbert Hoover established a national monument consisting of 35,528 acres around the sand dunes. It was not until September 13, 2004 that George W. Bush signed the law establishing the Great Sand Dunes National Park.
- Great Sand Dunes National Park consists of 107,341.87 acres (434.4 km2 | 167.7 mi2). But when you combine the park boundaries with the adjacent preserve, the protected area consists of 149,028 acres.
- The sand dunes cover roughly 30 square miles and consist of 5 billion cubic meters of sand. It is thought that the dunes formed from deposits of the ancient Rio Grande river.
- Located in the San Luis Valley, the sand dunes back onto the western side of the Sangre de Cristo Range. The park borders the Rio Grande National Forest, the San Isabel National Forest, the San Luis Lakes State Wildlife Area, the Baca National Wildlife Refuge, and private property too.
- In 1976, the Great Sand Dunes Wilderness Area established a designated wilderness zone of 35,955 acres within the dune field.
- The sand dunes are the tallest sand dunes in North America. The tallest dune in the park is Star Dune that rises 755′ from base to crest. High Dune has a higher elevation, but only rises 699′.
- Within Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve there is an elevation change of 6084′. The lowest point in the park is 7520′ near San Luis Lakes and the highest point is Tijeras Peak at 13,064′.
- In the summer afternoons, the sand surface can reach 150 degrees!
- The park area is home to some of the oldest known archeological sites in the US. These sites date back over 9000 years. Humans have been in the area for roughly 11,000 years. The 1st European to reach the San Luis Valley was Don Diego de Vargas in 1694. In 1807, Zebulon Pike was the first person to write about the sand dunes.
We hope you enjoy your trip to the Great Sand Dunes National Park!
The above facts about Great Sand Dunes National Park came from the following sources:
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