Beneath the shifting sands of dunes, you typically find the foundational surface of the area, often the bare ground of the surrounding desert landscape.
Exploring the Ground Beneath the Sand
While sand dunes are iconic features of many desert environments, they don't actually cover the majority of desert surfaces. According to one perspective, a significant portion of deserts consists of exposed earth rather than vast sand seas.
Based on available information, approximately 80% of deserts are not covered in sand. Instead, these areas reveal the underlying terrain.
What lies beneath the sand dunes is often this bare earth, which is described as:
- The bedrock: The solid rock layer that forms the base of the ground.
- Cracking clay: Dried-out, cracked soil typical of arid or semi-arid conditions.
This forms the surface of a dried-out ecosystem, upon which the sand dunes sometimes migrate or settle. So, while the dunes themselves are made of accumulated sand, the ground supporting them and making up the larger desert area is commonly composed of harder, exposed geological material.
