A barchan dune is also sometimes referred to as a crescentic dune, is a U-shaped type of sand dune that consists of horns or tips that point downwind or against the wind. Sand supply is abundant where barchans occur along with a hard ground and a constant wind direction. Barchans can usually be found around shrubs and larger rocks as these act as anchors to hold the central area of the dune in place whereas the tips are blown away by the wind. Some barchan dunes can be over 100 feet high! Good luck climbing that from the steeper sloped side. The word Barchan comes from Russian word “Barkhan”
A barchan dune can form when a lot of sand is present in the desert. A steady wind from one direction is needed. The face of a barchan is very steep. As sand escapes over the top of the dune, it forms a trailing wall that is not steep, extending further backward and meeting the desert floor. The trailing wall has a rounded shape from the ends on either side toward the middle, like the form of a crescent moon when it is one quarter full. If there is a substantial change in wind direction, the crescent form can be destroyed.
Barchans dunes can be found in deserts around the world where sand dunes occur. The most famous of these are the Sahara desert in Egypt and the Gobi desert in Asia. Photos taken by orbiting spacecraft have revealed barchan dunes on the surface of Mars, created by strong winds.
A barchan dune can be from 30 feet to over 100 feet high. A large barchan can be over 1200 feet wide.
A barchan dune will migrate with the wind. As sand escapes over the top, a barchan slowly moves backward. Sand on the face moves to the trailing wall behind. The speed of a barchan’s movement can be very slow, traveling perhaps 50 feet in a year’s time. Smaller barchans can migrate more quickly. A large barchan may move only a few feet each year.
When 2 or more barchans meet, they can form compound barchan dunes with varied shapes in the desert.
A barchan dune is a crescent-shaped sand dune that faces the wind and is convex in shape formed by the constant blow of wind in one direction.
Related pages: Desert and Sand Dune
We want pictures and location of the lanforms around the world and we need your help. Click get started button below.
In Asia, China, India, Nepal, and Bhutan are home to one of the eight wonders of the world and one of the most beautiful mountains in the world, the Himalaya Mountains also called the Himalayas. Boasting as the world’s highest and most famous mountain peak, Mt. Everest. Within the verse of the ‘Kumarsambhava’, Sanskrit […]
Nature have provided us with fascinating landforms and features. The most often adored landforms are volcanoes. Like the perfect cone structure of Mayon Volcano in the Philippines or Mount Fiji in Japan, people look at their beauty and wonder with great appreciation to nature. Volcanoes are mountains with a very disastrous nature. Their only […]
Taal Volcano is the second most active volcano found in the province of Batangas. A complex volcano in the middle of Taal Lake and is often called an island within a lake, that is an island within a lake that is on an island as well as one of the lowest volcano in the […]
Mayon Volcano is one of the active volcanoes in the Philippines. Located in the southern part of Luzon about 473 kilometers (294 miles) from Makati Business District of the Philippines, Mount Mayon is the main landmark of the Province of Albay of Bicol Region. According to local folklore, the volcano was named after Daragang […]
The global temperature and weather is to a large extent a direct result of the sun’s effect to our planet. Together with the atmosphere and the rotation of the earth on its axis. The earth on which weather moves on has its own effect on the weather. The different landforms like mountains, volcanoes, plains, and the […]
