Bruneau Dunes State Park
Bruneau Dunes State Park is a public recreation and geologic preservation area in the western United States, located in Owyhee County in southwestern Idaho. It is northeast of Bruneau and south of Mountain Home.
Featuring large sand dunes and small lakes, the state park is the site of North America's tallest single-structured sand dune, which is approximately in height. The park encompasses and features the Bruneau Dunes Observatory, where visitors can use a telescope for stargazing. The Sand Dunes, the visible dunes within the dune field itself, encompass appx.
Natural history
;GeologyThe park's dunes are unique in the Western Hemisphere: where others in the Americas form at the edge of a natural basin, the Bruneau dunes form near the center. The basin has acted as a natural trap for over 12,000 years. The dunes may have started with sands from the Bonneville Flood about 15,000 years ago. With prevailing winds blowing from the southeast 28 percent of the time and from the northwest 32 percent of the time, the dunes stay fairly stable, and unlike most dunes, do not drift far.
;Flora and fauna
The state park includes desert, dune, prairie, lake and marsh habitat. Desert wildlife, including coyotes, is prominent along with birds of prey and waterfowl.