Natural History Photographs





The Coral Pink Sand Dunes result from weathered Navajo sandstone. The sand that results from the weathering rocks is deposited when the wind passing through the notch between the Moquith and Moccasin Mountains picks up loose sand particles and then drop them onto the dunes because of the Venturi effect. The sand is more salmon than pink in color, but anyway contrasts beautifully with the grey-blue sagebrush. Plants need to be well-adapted to this habitat; while rainfall is sparse anyway, any rain that falls will drain away quickly. Yet, much to my surprise I found quite some flowering plants despite we visited in high summer. The flowering plants were visited by various flies and wasps, making good opportunities for photography. After a productive first day I returned one day later to explore more the edges of the area. All in all, the wealth of material justifies presenting it in two separate pages.


 
August 9th August 10th