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Map Satellite The Panamint Dunes are located at the northern end of the Panamint Valley and rise some 75 meters (250 feet) above the valley floor.
Total vegetation cover on the dunes is not more than one percent over the entire dune area and the central dune area is devoid of cover. What little vegetation there is consists almost wholly of three species, Tiquilia plicata, creosote bush, Larrea tridentata, and the rare Astragalus lentiginosus ssp. micans.
There are few vertebrates in the area but numerous invertebrate species are present. A total of 26 species of Coleoptera have been collected here, including two species, a scarab beetle, Phobetus sleeperi hardy, and a weevil, Trigonoscuta (as yet unnamed), which are known from only this dune system.
Sand sheets, hummocks, blow sand and star dunes are found here. The dunes lie on the old bed of Lake Panamint which was up to 270 meters (900 feet) deep during the Tahoe glacial period, 30,000 - 70,000 B.P.
Integrity: The dunes are virtually undisturbed.
Use: Research, educational, observational.
April 1982
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2008 Steven Louis Hartman
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