Miniature Landscapes by Neil Weaver Photography
I shared the photo below of what Neil dubbed “The Great Sand Pyramid of Silver Lake Dunes” back on December 17, 2020. Like the ones in the photo above, the lines are so crisp & clear that they look computer generated. Sleeping Bear Dunes is another shifting dune complex, and they explain that the reason that the sand on shifting sand dunes looks the way it does is due to wind & something known as the angle of repose:
Active dunes gradually advance over time. In some places trees and telephone poles have been buried in drifting sand over a period of several years. A common question is “How fast are the dunes moving?” Rates of sand movement vary from one place to another and from one year to the next. At the Dune Climb the average rate of advance has been about 4 feet (1.2 meters) per year over the past few years.
Direction of sand movement also varies from one place to the next. The shapes of dunes reveal the direction of the winds. Dry, loose sand can take on a maximum slope of 34 degrees, known as the angle of repose. As sand piles up on an unvegetated dune, the leeward (downwind) slope approximates the angle of repose, while the windward slope is more gradual. Ripples in the sand show a similar asymmetrical shape.
Dune sand moves primarily by a process called “saltation”, literally “jumping”. Wind forces grains of sand to roll, collide with other grains of sand, and in subsequent collisions some grains bounce into the air, are driven downwind as they fall, and upon landing strike other grains to produce a chain reaction. On a windy day you can see a hazy zone of sand moving just a foot or two above the ground.
Neil took the photo above last year in late December & shared “One of the many things that I love about hiking around the sand dunes is finding miniature landscapes created by the strong winds. The textures and lines compose a true natural work of art!”
Indeed!! See lots more of Neil’s work on Facebook and view & purchase prints, calendars & photography workshops on his website!
The Great Silver Lake Pyramid by Neil Weaver Photography
Beginning in 1919 a small portion of what is now the national lakeshore was set aside as a state park. The idea of a national park in northwestern Michigan did not surface until the National Park Service’s Great Lakes Shoreline Survey visited the area in 1958. Between 1959 and 1970 there was a continuous and controversial effort in Congress to create a park unit around the Sleeping Bear Dune. The legislative leader of the Sleeping Bear park proposal was United States Senator Philip A. Hart. The senator’s persistence and patience in the end led to the creation of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore on October 21, 1970.
Michigan in Pictures 