Hi there! Do you know that when the wind blows, it can pick up tiny grains of sand and carry them to different places? This is how sand hills, which are called dunes and barchans, are made.

Here is how it works:

  • Wind picks up sand: When the wind is strong, it lifts small bits of sand off the ground.
  • Wind moves the sand: The wind then pushes or blows the sand along the ground or through the air.
  • Sand piles up: When the wind slows down, the sand falls and starts to pile up, making a hill of sand.

Dunes are big piles of sand that can look like hills or waves and often form in deserts or near beaches.

Barchans are special crescent or moon-shaped sand hills that form when wind blows mostly from one direction. The barchans have curved arms that point downwind, making them look like a smile shape.

So, the wind is like a sand mover that shapes and builds these sandy hills by picking up, carrying, and dropping the sand in new places!


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