HARTMAN MULTIMEDIA
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HARTMAN MULTIMEDIA
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This dune system, though small, exhibits more types of
dunes than any other in the desert, including examples of transverse, barchan,
oscillatory, longitudinal, seif and complex dunes. There are three areas in the system:
the Little Dumont Dunes, west of Spring Hills, the main Dumont Dunes, to
the east, and further east the smaller Valjean Dunes.
The bajada surface, where the main dunes rest, appears to have been
undisturbed by fluvial action in modern times; the others, however, may have
been subjected to flash floods, as they rest on the edges of active wash
systems. The type of sand in the system is remarkably
homogeneous, consisting primarily of quartz with minor amounts of feldspar.
The sources of the sand were probably the shoreline of the Pleistocene
Lake Manly and the Amargosa River and Kingston Wash. These dunes are not stabilized and there is virtually no
vegetation, though some psammophytes maintain a precarious foothold on the lower
slopes, particularly Tiquilia plicata and Palafoxia arida.
The sandy terraces to the north support a variety of annual and perennial
wildflowers. Certain of the dunes are classified as "musical
dunes," a rare phenomenon which takes place under certain winds and
movement of the sands. Use: Research,
education Ref: Romero, M. A., et al. 1972. Amargosa Canyon-Dumont
Dunes Proposed Natural Area. Pupfish Habitat Preservation Committee, Montrose,
California. Mason, J. P., 1948.
Geology of the Tecopa Area, Southeastern California.
Geol. Soc. Amer. Bulletin No. 59: 333-352. January 1975
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