3. Lightning is sometimes captured by the sand dunes
When lightning strikes at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, the electricity can be captured in the sand and form fulgurites. This phenomenon happens when lightning blasts the sand and vaporizes the area, melting the surrounding sand into dark glass. Fulgurites are fused sand formations that are blackish tubes formed with a temperature of 50,000 degrees.
Author’s Note: If you find a fulgurite, do not touch it. Leave it for other park visitors to discover and study. If a storm rolls in while you’re on the sand dunes, get off the sand as quickly as possible.
Photo Credit: Patrick Myers, National Park Service.
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