Kane Spring

Kane Spring is an excellent example of a spring-formed sand dune. This type of dune arises in sandy areas where water seepage is sufficient to support vegetation on the accumulating windborn sands. The sand may pile so high that the water cannot rise and the spring is completely sealed. The core of the dune is a dark, mucky mixture of sand and decayed vegetation.

Here the dune is some 10 meters (30+ feet) high and 75 meters (250+ feet) in diameter. At the top is a sunken marshy area 0.5 hectare (an acre) or so in extent. The water seeps to the eastward.

The rare plants Pilostyles thurberi and Eriogonum deserticola occur in the vicinity.

Integrity: Good

Use: Private

Ref: Hinds, Norman, 1952. Evolution of the California Landscape. California Division of Mines Bull. 158.

May 1975