Hiker on Dune Ridges at Sunset
NPS/Patrick Myers
How 'great' are the Great Sand Dunes?
Look carefully to see the hiker on the upper dune in this photo, which only shows a small portion of the lower half of the first ridge of dunes. The main dunefield stretches 30 square miles beyond this ridge, and the tallest dune in North America, Star Dune, rises 755 feet (230m) from its base. That's taller than any skyscraper building in Denver, Colorado!
Above the dunes are alpine peaks that reach over 14,000 feet (4,267m), and surrounding the dunefield on three sides is a valley floor the size of the state of Connecticut. That's GREAT!
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Taken on June 13, 2017