Ritebook — Discover Amazing Facts, History, Travel & Culture: Dune of pilat

Natural phenomena – phenomena of nature that are difficult to find a reasonable explanation for. Great dune of pylas of pilat looking for tonnes of sand on the French coast; it seems that the result is a joke of some wizard: take a piece of the Sahara and move it here, in the waters of the Bay of Biscay near the Bay of Arcachon, neatly stacked on the border of coniferous forests sixty kilometres from Bordeaux.

The Great Dune of PYLA, or PILAT (both spellings are correct, oddly enough), the tallest sand dune in Europe.

The great dune of Pyla

In fact, the appearance of this biggest dune in Europe is due to natural processes. Namely, River Lehr is located directly opposite the current dunes, having diligently carried sand into the ocean and left it on the shelf for centuries. And the wind, in turn, also diligently included sand on the beach, a place where every year a dune forms.

150 years ago, its height was small – only about 35 metres. However, the advance of failed dunes now adds an average of 4 metres per year, while some move from side to side, and their height depends on the wind, changing from 80 to 107 metres.

Dune of Pilat, a desert in France

In general, the Large Dune stretches almost 3 km along the coast, and another 500 metres of deep pine forest, which, incidentally, came here at the behest of the individual, was planted in the mid-19th century as a measure of local drainage of wetlands.

It is one of the main oyster-farming regions in France, so try the “Route des Huitres”, the route of oysters, where you can learn everything there is to know about them. Tired of the Ocean? Visit the lakes at Biscarosse, south of the inlet. It is a little paradise, formed some 4000 years ago, with white-sand beaches and warm waters (up to 28°C in the summer), perfect for aquatic activities or fishing. How about ending the day with a first flight in a ULM hydroplane?

All these activities, and many more, make the region very popular nowadays. But imagine how attractive this wonderful climate was to the rich and famous at the end of the 19th century. It was a time when leaving the wet and humid regions of northern Europe in the winter was a must. And Arcachon was (and still is) a wonderful alternative to the French Riviera.

First Image by Flickr User Linselys