The Great Dune of Pyla

Great Dune of Pyla, viewed from the South. On the left, the Atlantic ocean; to the north, in the background, the entrance to Arcachon Bay

Aerial view of the Great Dune of Pyla

The Great Dune of Pyla (or Pilat) (French: la Dune du Pyla, or Pilat) is the tallest sand dune in Europe.^[1] It is located in La Teste-de-Buch in the Arcachon Bay area, France, 60 km from Bordeaux.

Pilat is sometimes spelled Pyla, hence the alternative name "dune of Pyla". More accurately, Pyla is the name of the closest town, Pyla-sur-Mer, which is part of La Teste-de-Buch municipality in the Gironde department. The correct and original name of the dune is the Dune of Pilat, but because of the confusion that occurred, both are now considered correct.

Characteristics

The dune has a volume of about 60,000,000 m³, measuring around 500 m wide from east to west and 3 km in length from north to south. Its height is 107 metres above sea level. The dune is a famous tourist destination with more than one million visitors per year.

On 24 January 2009, a peak windspeed of 175 km/h was recorded during a storm at the dune, damaging the dune.^[2]

References

1. ^ C.G. (14 August 2009). Les Adresses de Mathilde Seigner et Fabien Onteniente. Le Figaro Magazine. (French)
2. ^ Des vents à 175 km/h sur la dune du Pyla, Metro France. (French)

External links

• (English)The Great Dune of Pyla web site
• Dune du Pilat Multilingual website

Coordinates: 44°35′24″N 1°12′42″W / 44.59°N 1.21167°W / 44.59; -1.21167