At first glance the Eureka Dunes appear desolate. What could possibly survive the hardships of this area? Plants and animals must endure the shifting sands, as a windstorm could bury them alive or expose them to the drying sun. The dry surface is deceptive, for dunes can hold water like a sponge. The Eureka Dunes receive more rainfall than others in the Death Valley area because their location at the western base of a mountain range that captures precipitation from passing storms. For perhaps 10,000 years these dunes have existed, providing a unique habitat for specialized lifeforms to evolve. The isolation of Eureka Dunes from other dune fields has led to the development of endemic species of plants and animals that are found nowhere else in the world. Besides 5 species of endemic beetles, 3 special plants have their entire range limited to this island of sand.