page_title: Eureka Valley (Inyo County)
section_title: Sand Dunes
hierarchical_section_title: Eureka Valley (Inyo County) / Sand Dunes
caption_attribution_description: English: View from within the Eureka Dunes, California, looking west.
context_page_description: Eureka Valley is located in Inyo County, in eastern California in the southwestern United States. It is approximately 28 miles long and up to 10 miles wide, with elevations varying from 2870 feet up to 8456 feet. The southern section of the valley is now part of the Death Valley National Park - Death Valley itself lies just to the southeast. To the north is Deep Springs Valley, Fish Lake Valley, and the White Mountain Range. To the east the Last Chance Range rises over 5500 feet above the valley floor. To the west are the Saline Mountains, and to the southwest lies Saline Valley.
  Eureka Valley is a graben, like most other lower-lying areas of the Basin and Range Province. An improved gravel road crosses the valley, connecting the community of Big Pine to the northern Grapevine section of Death Valley. A 10-mile gravel road provides access to the southern end of the valley. More primitive routes exit the valley to the northwest via Soldier Pass, to the northeast via Horse Thief Pass, and to the south via Dedeckera Canyon.
  The valley has two distinguishing features. Its shape alters the wind in such a way as to collect sand near its southern end, leading to the unique Eureka Dunes.
context_section_description: The Eureka Valley Sand Dunes are located in the southern part of Eureka Valley. Although covering an area of only 3 square miles (8 km²), the dunes rise approximately 680 feet (207 m) above the surrounding valley floor, making them one of the highest dune fields in North America.  Eureka Valley is a basin and range structural valley oriented northwest-southeast and enclosed by the Last Chance Range to the east and the Saline Range to the west. The Eureka Dunes themselves are located in the southeastern most tip of the valley and trend north-south, parallel to Last Chance Range. According to a USGS survey map, the surrounding mountain ranges contain rocks that date back to the Mississippian and Cambrian periods while the surficial deposits on the valley floor are made up mainly of alluvium dating to the Quaternary period. They are also classified as booming sand dunes, one of only about forty worldwide.
  Accessed via a gravel road in Eureka Valley (which connects to a road running from Big Pine to the Grapevine section of Death Valley), the dunes became part of the Death Valley National Park as part of its expansion in 1994.  Foot travel in the dunes is permitted, but vehicle access is prohibited.  A primitive campground is located at the north end of the dune field.
  Sand dunes also exist in Death Valley near Stovepipe Wells. The Eureka Dunes share regional characteristics with the Kelso Dunes in the Mojave Desert.
caption: The Eureka Dunes, looking west
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