Province
|
Sand dunes of the Great Nafud
| In the Nafud al Kabir in the eastern part of the province, wind swept sand dunes offer an iconic experience of Saudi Arabia |
 |
Technically, dunes are classified by their shape: the main four categories are crescentic, linear, star, dome, and parabolic.
Crescent-shaped dunes are the ones most associated with desert landscapes, and the ones best suited to tat'aees and sand-boarding. They look like rolling waves of sand, with the bulk of the dune being blown from behind, and then cresting over a ridge onto the steep side of the dune - the 'slip face'.
Crescent dunes are also are known as barchans, or transverse dunes. Barchans can travel up to 100 meters per year.
Linear dunes are typically much longer than they are wide and at their most extreme can be more than 100km long. They generally form sets of parallel ridges separated by sand, gravel, or rocky inter-dune corridors and are formed by the wind blowing predominantly (and at length) from one direction.
Star dunes are fairly rare. They look like a pyramid from the ground, and a star fish from above. They have 'slipfaces' on three or more sides and 'arms' that radiate from the center of the mound. They tend to form in areas where the wind blows from different sides. Star dunes grow upward rather than side to side and can be 500m tall.
Dome dunes are oval or circular mounds that generally lack a slipface.
Parabolic dunes are sometimes called U-shaped, blowout, or hairpin dunes, and they are well known in coastal areas like beaches. They behave like crescentic dunes in reverse, because the dune is anchored by vegetation. This means that the elongated arms of the crescent follow, rather than lead the dune, while the bulk of the sand migrates forward causing a slipface that is full like a sail, rather than hollowed out like a wave. The longest known parabolic dune has a trailing arm 12km long.
The protected area of Nafud al Urayq in the south west of the province, and the Alsa'afeeq Al Ghada Nature Park located south of Unayzah is a large area of rolling sand dunes and Al Ghada plants. It is protected by the local community and used for grazing livestock, but the area is also popular for general recreation such as picnicking, camping, riding and hiking.
Western Al Asyah, located northwest of Buraydah, offers an attractive sand dune landscape.
Qatan in the western part of the province offers unserviced camping, picnicking and hiking. Here you'll find some trees and flat land with steep areas and rocky outcrops. |
|
|
