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Height: ~450 feet
Description: Dumont Dunes, near Death Valley in southern
California, is a great place to witness and study booming dunes. They
are on BLM land, not national park or preserve land. Consequently,
you don't need permits to do non-intrusive research here. These dunes
are also the most accessible of all the dunes in the area; if
you're confident in your 4WD, you could probably drive all the way to
the base. The biggest drawback of this site is that it's
popular among ATV enthuaisists, whose noisy vehicles make it
difficult to get good recordings of the sound.
Directions: The Dumont Dunes are about half an hour north of
Baker, California. From Baker, take Highway 127 north for 31 miles.
Turn right onto the unmarked dirt road. Proceed 2.8 miles to an
information sign, then another 1.5 miles until the road ends at the
foot of the dunes. The approach is short and easy.
Booming: I've been to the dunes at several times of the year
(late spring - early fall) and the dunes boomed during every visit.
However, the booming was noticeably quieter in the fall than in the
summer.
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