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| Indiana Dunes - Wikipedia photo |
NPR - Massive sand dunes make up the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Tucked between coal plants and steel mills, the dunes are as high as 200 feet, stretching along the southernmost tip of Lake Michigan.
These dunes were formed some 14,000 years ago, and most are now covered in forest, says Park Ranger Bruce Rowe, who has worked at the lakeshore for 30 years.
"Most of the dunes at Indiana Dunes, people don't recognize as dunes, because they're hiding under an oak forest," Rowe says. But one dune, Mount Baldy, is different. It's a big pile of sand with not a blade of beach grass to speak of, just a couple scruffy trees struggling to survive. Rowe says that's partly because of the dune's popularity. About 200,000 people visit the park each year, almost all to get their feet on Mount Baldy.
