Dunes look like a desert
Now flying over an endless sea of sand, the passengers cannot believe that the desert-like dunes below are right in the middle of forested terrain. Sand dunes are commonly associated with dry, desert-like ecosystems however, some of the most unique features of the Athabasca Sand Dunes are their unique, non-desert-like location and the abundance of water within and around them. Sand dunes can be grouped into two broad categories: dry-sand dunes, known as desert dunes, and moist-sand dunes, known as parabolic dunes. The sand dunes of Athabasca are parabolic dunes that occur in semi-arid areas, in which some precipitation is common and moisture is retained in the lower parts of the sand and soils below. On account of moisture within them, parabolic dunes have some cohesion and can resist being moved by the wind, whereas desert dunes are so dry that they respond quickly to changes in the wind speed and direction.