The Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

by: Rachel

Where the park is locatedThe Great Sand Dunes National Park is

located in parts of Alamosa County and Saguache County in Colorado, in the United States

When this park was formedThis park was originally created as Great

Sand Dunes National Monument on March 17, 1932, but the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve was established by an act of the United States Congress on September 13, 2004.

Birds eye view of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains

Size of the park The park includes 44,246 acres, and the

preserve protects 41,686 acres. The whole park and preserve has a total of 85,932 acres.

The Great Sand Dunes compared to Rhode IslandRhode Island is about 776,957 acres and

compared to The Great Sand Dunes, Rhode Island is 691,025 acres bigger.

Rhode Island

Out lined in green is The Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve

Why tourists visit this parkTourists visit this park because they can go

hiking, sand sledding, go splash in Medano Creek, watch wildlife, go horse back ridding, and you can take in and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

What kids like about this parkThey have a junior ranger program where you

are put into your age group and are given a booklet. When you complete a section in your booklet, you earn a patch or a badge.

The park also has interactive exhibits at the visitors center for kids of all ages to enjoy.

Each summer they hold a Junior Ranger Day where there are numerous activities for kids such as crafts, sand sculpting, learning about nature and more!

Animals and Insects

Tiger beetle American

Pika

Black Bear

Bighorn Sheep

Other factsThis park also includes alpine lakes, tundra, six peaks

over 13,oo feet in elevation, ancient spruce and pine forests, large stands of aspen and cottonwood, grasslands, and wetlands.

According to a recent study The Great Sand Dunes is the quietest park out of all the 48 contiguous states in the United States.

This park contains the tallest sand dunes in North America reaching to about 750 feet from the floor of San Luis Valley, on the western base of Sangre de Cristo range, covering about 19,000 acres

Researchers say the dunes started forming about 440,000 years ago.