Jockey Ridge

The location of this photograph is at Jockey-Ridge, Nags Head, North Carolina
Jockey Ridge State Park, is home to some of the tallest sand dunes on the east coast of the United States. These sand dunes, which can reach heights of up to 100 feet, are constantly shifting and changing due to wind and weather patterns.

The sand dunes at Jockey Ridge were formed over thousands of years by a combination of wind and water erosion, as well as the movement of sediment along the coast. The dunes are made up of tiny grains of sand that have been carried inland by the wind, and they continue to grow and shift as new sand is deposited, and old sand is blown away.

Today, Jockey Ridge State Park is a popular destination for outdoor enthusiasts, offering a wide range of activities such as hiking, hang gliding, kite flying, and sand boarding. Visitors can explore the dunes on foot or rent a sand board from one of the local rental shops to slide down the slopes.

The sand dunes at Jockey Ridge are also an important ecosystem, providing a home for a variety of plant and animal species, including the federally threatened piping plover and the state-threatened sea beach amaranth. The park’s dunes are carefully managed to protect these species and ensure that the dunes continue to provide a unique and beautiful landscape for generations to come.

A view from the bottom of Jockey Ridge State Park, Nags Head, North Carolina, before the sand storm.

To become, as it were, part of nature. As Thoreau said of Walden Pond:

“I am its stony shore, And the breeze that passes o’er;
In the hollow of my hand
Are its water and its sand… ”

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