Dune of Pilat

The Dune of Pilat is a large coastal sand dune near Arcachon, France. Wind and shifting sand move it gradually inland against the forested coast.

Connect

Aeolian processes: The erosion, transport, and deposition of sediment by wind. Wind transports sand across the dune and drives its gradual movement inland.
Arcachon Bay: A tidal lagoon on France’s Atlantic coast, separated from the ocean by the Cap Ferret peninsula. The dune stands beside the bay’s ocean entrance and shares its coastal landscape.
Great Dune of Pyla: A historical and alternative English name for the Dune of Pilat. Older sources use this spelling, while Pilat is the standard modern name.
Coastal dune: A dune formed along a shoreline from sand supplied by beaches and coastal processes. The Dune of Pilat exemplifies how large coastal dunes reshape adjacent landscapes.
Longshore drift: The movement of sediment along a coast by waves approaching at an angle. Coastal currents supply sand that waves deliver to the dune system.
Cap Ferret: A narrow peninsula separating Arcachon Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. Its coastal sands and the dune belong to the same shifting shoreline system.
Pilat-Plage: A coastal settlement beside the Dune of Pilat in southwestern France. Its buildings and roads sit at the moving dune’s forest-facing edge.
Dune stabilization: The use of vegetation, barriers, or other measures to reduce dune movement. Stabilization can protect infrastructure, but the Pilat dune remains notably mobile.
Sand dune: A mound or ridge of sand shaped primarily by wind. The Dune of Pilat is an unusually large, mobile example of this landform.
Landes forest: A vast forest in southwestern France, dominated by maritime pine. The forest borders the dune and records human efforts to stabilize the sandy Landes region.