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The Dune of Pyla
Home » Pics » The Dune of Pyla
By Spooky | 11 CommentsLeave a Comment
Last updated: Monday, May 26, 2008
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Didn’t know they had deserts in Europe.

La Dune de Pila, as the French call it, is the largest sand dune in Europe. It’s located in the Arachon Bay, 60 km from the city of Bordeaux, and it is a very popular tourist attraction in France. The dune is 3 km long, 500 m wide and it has a maximum height of 117 m above sea level.

The Dune of Pyla is a recent formation, born in the XVII century through accumulation of Aeolian sand on a transverse dune. Each year, the dune covers about 8,000 square meters and at this rate, in 40 years the camping and the road at the bottom of the slope will be completely covered by sand.

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Comments

11 comments
  1. Chris
    May 31, 2008

    take some of this dune and send it to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, USA

    Leave a reply
  2. Joe Mama
    May 31, 2008

    that would make a great beach in canada in the winter time!\

    Leave a reply
  3. Dig Chinese
    May 31, 2008

    Not many people in the pictures

    Leave a reply
  4. macman
    June 1, 2008

    I think it looks great where it is now. So just visit France and enjoy it in situ.

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  5. Oriane
    June 2, 2008

    Please, this is ‘Arcachon’ and not ‘Arachon’…
    In the same style you can check about La Mer de Sable in France.

    Leave a reply
  6. Chris Davis
    June 5, 2008

    Pah! From a great height I speet on it.

    Have you seen Chesil Beach? ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chesil_Beach )

    It’s a Tombolo of similar size, made entirely of what appears to be small, grey, fossilised potatoes.

    CD

    Leave a reply
  7. Nevi
    June 9, 2008

    Do you mean you spit ..on it Chris?
    And grey fossilized potatos?LOL!

    Thank you,you have made my day.;)

    Leave a reply
  8. antiques
    June 10, 2008

    Its just a sand dune…

    Leave a reply
  9. World Destinations Blog
    June 11, 2008

    Great pictures

    Leave a reply
  10. Susan
    June 16, 2008

    I believe he quotes Monty Python??? You made me laugh out loud!

    Leave a reply
  11. Susan
    June 16, 2008

    I’ve been to the top of this amazing not-just-a-sand dune quite a few times. When the tide is out the view is completely different from when the tide is in. It’s difficult to get a feel for the danger the fishermen experience with the change of tides until you’re on top of the dune. The area through which the water exits (and enters, of course!) is really quite small, making it treacherous for the unprepared. And if you should miss your opportunity to get back in before the tide goes out… you’re stuck for awhile!

    Leave a reply

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