PHOTO GALLERY: Mesa Verde & Great Sand Dunes National Parks – Colorado

2013/08/19

tall dunes at Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado

grassy plains, tall dunes and rugged mountains all meet at Great Sand Dunes National Park in Colorado

PHOTO GALLERY:

Mesa Verde & Great Sand Dunes National Parks – Colorado

Colorado is most famous for its great ski resorts and the beautiful Rocky Mountains National Park. But the state isn’t all mountains. In fact, it offers many distinct topographies and intriguing national & state parks. There are vast grasslands & plains, rivers & streams, deserts, forests and a few unique surprises such as Mesa Verde and Great Sand Dunes National Parks.

Great Sand Dunes N.P., located in the San Luis Valley of southern Colorado, consists of North America’s tallest sand dunes at 750 ft above sea level. Who would have thought a mass of sand dunes was land-locked in the middle of the USA?

Sand was deposited over time into the valley by the Rio Grande and other rivers. Strong westerly blowing winds then whipped the sand into big dunes, trapping the sand against the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Changing wind patterns over the year, and even daily, keep the dunes in relatively the same place, but constantly shift the dune shapes from day to day.

stunning Mesa Verde cliff dwellings

Mesa Verde consists of over 600 stone dwellings cut into tall cliffs by the Anasazi Indians, who lived in the region between 600-1300 AD. Mesa Verde is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site as well as US national park.

Please enjoy my photos of these two unique and stunning national parks from my trip through Colorado.

cheers, Lash

SEE PHOTO GALLERY

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