Sand Dunes

Location: Lake Michigan shore

Dune Formation. Sand dunes form where there is a source of dry sand (particles of pulverized rock), wind or water to transport the sand, and a land area on which to deposit it. Sand dunes are common on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan where the water deposits the sand on the beach and the prevailing winds blow it inland. Windblown sand is trapped by debris and vegetation and the dune grows vertically. If there is no vegetation, or the plant growth is disturbed, the sand will continue to move inland, blown by the wind, as much as four feet a year. The sand dunes between Saugatuck and Lake Michigan, topped by Mt. Baldhead, a stabilized dune, are among the finest and best preserved in the state. Among the rare flora of the area is the Pitcher thistle and various species of trillium. The dune environment remains fragile, vulnerable to the erosive forces of nature as well as damage by human use.

Carl Sandburg wrote: “The dunes are to the Midwest what the Grand Canyon is to Arizona and Yosemite is to California. They constitute a signature of time and eternity. Once lost, the loss would be irrevocable.”