02 April 2013

The Sands of Anchorage

I'll bet most of you don't know that there's a large sandy area at Kincaid Park in Anchorage, near the headwaters of the Cook Inlet.


The last time I visited the dunes, there were dirt bikers racing and jumping on the sand.  Here's an article from the Alaska Dispatch, talking about the area & how it relates to our glacial past.

8 comments:

drjim said...

So this "deposited sand" from the last ice age vs being sand made from ocean action?

Rev. Paul said...

That's correct; my understanding is that the area where it's deposited is at the point where the ice sloped down to what is now sea level, on its way to gouge out the bottom of the Inlet.

drjim said...

OK, then it's like the sand dunes in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana.
When the glaciers scooped out the Great Lakes, they dumped a LOT of stuff all around the edges!

Rev. Paul said...

Exactly, drjim, just like the Homer Spit: a three-mile long tongue of sand & rock snaking out into the middle of Kachemak Bay. Debris, good and proper.

PioneerPreppy said...

Except the sand in Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan occasionally thaws. Are you sure those are sand grains and not ice crystals? :)

Rev. Paul said...

Preppy, we're pretty sure: the ice crystals would be a different shade of grey. :)

Old NFO said...

Gotta be one COLD beach....

Rev. Paul said...

Only in the winter, NFO. :^)