Download The Sleeping Bear Dunes

THE SLEEPING BEAR DUNES
By: Zora W.
THE EFFECTS OF WEATHERING
Did you know that Mechanical Weathering helped
in the formation of the Sleeping Bear Dunes? The
dunes are made of rocks worn down into sand and
deposited by glaciers.
Weathering- The breaking down of the Earth's
rocks, soils, minerals and other material.
Mechanical Weathering- The breaking down of
rocks into sand or smaller rocks. It is caused by
freezing, erosion, and other types of natural
decomposition.
THE EFFECTS OF EROSION
Glacier deposits created the dunes,
glacial drift wore them away and
lake waves wore away the base.
The west side began to collapse, and
the loss of the plant cover sped up
erosion.
The winds changed the shape of the
dune by blowing the sand around and
pushing sand off of one side and
piling it up on the other side.
“The big dune in Sleeping Bear
National Lakeshore was measured in
1962 and again in 1980. In those 18
years, the dune shrank 103 feet. The
major forces acting on the dunes-wind, water and ice--will continue to
change their features over time,
gradually wearing them away.”
Continuing water and wind erosion
together with gravity may lead to the
disappearance of the Sleeping Bear
Dunes.
THE EFFECTS OF SOIL
The soil at the Sleeping Bear Dunes is sand. Sand
affects the Sleeping Bear Dunes because plants
can grow in sand. It also affects the shape of the
landform because wind can blow it around.
RESOURCES

http://www.ehow.com/facts_7164184_erosion-sleeping-bear-dunes-michigan_.html

http://www.mccullagh.org/photo/1ds-4/sandstorm-sahara-desert

http://www.nps.gov/slbe/naturescience/plants.htm