Dune of Pilat, viewed from the South. On the left, the Atlantic Ocean; to the north, in the background, the entrance to Arcachon BayAerial view of the Dune of PilatVisitors enjoying the scenery of the Landes from the eastern side and on the crest
With more than two million visitors per year, the Dune of Pilat is a famous tourist destination.
The Dune Of Pilat is located at the southern entrance to the Arcachon basin, in the locality of Pyla-sur-Mer, which is administratively dependent on the municipality of La Teste-de-Buch, near Arcachon, in the heart of the Landes de Gascogne.
Characteristicsedit
The dune has a volume of about 60,000,000 m³, measuring around 500 m wide from east to west and 2.7 km in length from north to south (1.35 km2).[2][3] Its height was 106.60 m above sea level as of 2018.
The dune is considered a foredune, meaning a dune that runs parallel to a shoreline, behind the high tide line of a beach. The dune has been observed to move landward, slowly pushing the forest back to cover houses, roads and portions of the Atlantic Wall. To back this evidence of coastal movement, maps from 1708 and 1786 both place areas with the name Pilat to the south and off-shore of the current dune's location. The area where the dune currently stands was referred to as "Les Sabloneys", or "The New Sands", until the 1930s, when it was renamed by real estate developer Daniel Meller as the Dune of Pilat. Pilat originates from the Gascon word Pilhar, which refers to a heap or mound.[4]
On 24 January 2009, a peak windspeed of 175 km/h (109 mph) was recorded during a storm at the Dune of Pilat, damaging the dune.[5]
The current location of Dune du Pilat housed temporary protohistoric camps for activities related to sea salt mining. The first archaeological discoveries began in 1922. On December 31, 2013, a tourist found a funeral urn and an accessory vase from the Iron Age, 800 years BC in the sand at the foot of the dune.
An excavation site mobilized about ten amateur archaeologists for two weeks in October 2014 to clarify the stratigraphic and environmental context of the reported discoveries.
Paraglidingedit
Due to its exposed location along the sea and steep angle, the Dune of Pilat is a famous paragliding spot with great soaring conditions.
^Scheffel, Richard L.; Wernet, Susan J., eds. (1980). Natural Wonders of the World. United States of America: Reader's Digest Association, Inc. p. 294. ISBN0-89577-087-3.
^Froidefond, J.M.; Ph. Legigan (1985). "'La grande dune du Pilat et la progression des dunes sur le littoral Aquitain" (38): 69–79. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
dune, pilat, french, dune, pilat, official, name, also, called, grande, dune, pilat, tallest, sand, dune, europe, located, teste, buch, arcachon, area, france, southwest, bordeaux, along, france, atlantic, coastlines, viewed, from, south, left, atlantic, ocean. The Dune of Pilat French Dune du Pilat official name 1 also called Grande Dune du Pilat is the tallest sand dune in Europe It is located in La Teste de Buch in the Arcachon Bay area France 60 km 37 2 mi southwest of Bordeaux along France s Atlantic coastlines Dune of Pilat viewed from the South On the left the Atlantic Ocean to the north in the background the entrance to Arcachon BayAerial view of the Dune of PilatVisitors enjoying the scenery of the Landes from the eastern side and on the crestWith more than two million visitors per year the Dune of Pilat is a famous tourist destination Contents 1 Location 2 Characteristics 3 History 4 Paragliding 5 References 6 External linksLocation editThe Dune Of Pilat is located at the southern entrance to the Arcachon basin in the locality of Pyla sur Mer which is administratively dependent on the municipality of La Teste de Buch near Arcachon in the heart of the Landes de Gascogne Characteristics editThe dune has a volume of about 60 000 000 m measuring around 500 m wide from east to west and 2 7 km in length from north to south 1 35 km2 2 3 Its height was 106 60 m above sea level as of 2018 The dune is considered a foredune meaning a dune that runs parallel to a shoreline behind the high tide line of a beach The dune has been observed to move landward slowly pushing the forest back to cover houses roads and portions of the Atlantic Wall To back this evidence of coastal movement maps from 1708 and 1786 both place areas with the name Pilat to the south and off shore of the current dune s location The area where the dune currently stands was referred to as Les Sabloneys or The New Sands until the 1930s when it was renamed by real estate developer Daniel Meller as the Dune of Pilat Pilat originates from the Gascon word Pilhar which refers to a heap or mound 4 On 24 January 2009 a peak windspeed of 175 km h 109 mph was recorded during a storm at the Dune of Pilat damaging the dune 5 History editThis section does not cite any sources Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed October 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message The current location of Dune du Pilat housed temporary protohistoric camps for activities related to sea salt mining The first archaeological discoveries began in 1922 On December 31 2013 a tourist found a funeral urn and an accessory vase from the Iron Age 800 years BC in the sand at the foot of the dune An excavation site mobilized about ten amateur archaeologists for two weeks in October 2014 to clarify the stratigraphic and environmental context of the reported discoveries Paragliding editDue to its exposed location along the sea and steep angle the Dune of Pilat is a famous paragliding spot with great soaring conditions nbsp Paragliders above the dune nbsp Paragliders above the duneReferences edit www dunedupilat com dunedupilat com Scheffel Richard L Wernet Susan J eds 1980 Natural Wonders of the World United States of America Reader s Digest Association Inc p 294 ISBN 0 89577 087 3 Froidefond J M Ph Legigan 1985 La grande dune du Pilat et la progression des dunes sur le littoral Aquitain 38 69 79 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help Windstorm at Dune du Pilat in 2009 Archived 2011 07 17 at the Wayback Machine Metro France in French External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Dune du Pilat in English The Great Dune of Pyla web site in English Dune du Pilat Multilingual website 44 35 24 N 1 12 42 W 44 59000 N 1 21167 W 44 59000 1 21167 nbsp This Gironde geographical article is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Dune of Pilat amp oldid 1212090299, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
