Jockey's Ridge
The tall dune area of Jockey's Ridge is known as a medano—a massive, asymmetrical, shifting hill of sand lacking vegetation. The desert like environment of the dunes makes life difficult here. Little to no vegetation or animal life lives in this area. The notorious winds of the Outer Banks cause a continual shifting of sands on the dunes. Winter's northeastern winds blow stronger than summer's southwestern winds, causing the dunes to move about one to six feet to the southwest each year. The dune is, however, stabilized somewhat by the surrounding maritime forests. Scientists estimate that there are 30 million tons of sand in the park.
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