The Great Dune of Pyla - La Teste-de-Buch, France
Posted by: 
denben
N 44° 35.931 W 001° 12.332
30T E 642415 N 4939955
The Great Dune of Pyla is located 60 km south-west from Bordeaux in La Teste-de-Buch in the Arcachon Bay area of France. It was listed as a “Grand National Site” in 1978.
Waymark Code: WMHG1T
Location: Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France
Date Posted: 07/07/2013
Views: 24
The Great Dune of Pyla (or Pilat) is the tallest sand dune in Europe. It has a volume of about 60,000,000 m³, measuring around 500 m wide from east to west and 2.7 km in length from north to south. Its height is 108 metres above sea level. It is considered a foredune, meaning a dune that runs parallel to a shoreline, behind the high tide line of a beach. The dune has been observed to move landward, slowly pushing the forest back to cover houses, roads and even portions of the Atlantic Wall.
On 24 January 2009, a peak windspeed of 175 km/h (109 mph) was recorded during a storm at the dune, damaging the dune.
The dune is a famous tourist destination with more than one million visitors per year. Access to the dune is not restricted and you can climb it from any point. During the summer months a 154-step staircase is attached to the side of the dune to help you reach the top easily. At the top you are surrounded by the forests of the Landes on one side and the Atlantic ocean on the other side. The entry to the dune is free.
Source: Wikipedia (
visit link)
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