PHOTO PATTERN DATA ELEMENTS: DUNE, SAND
The Great Basin- The terrain of interest is adjacent to the eastern slopes of the Sierra
Nevada within the sandy waste of the Mohave Dessert. This area has little rainfall and is
below sea level in part. The gently sloping floor of the Basin is covered with fine
alluvium which is in turn covered with sand stretches and ridges.
Form
Ridges, star-shaped, irregular shaped hills (dunes), parallel
(cross wind) ridges on flat to moderately sloped terrain.
Drainage
All internal, no pattern developed.
Gully Characteristics
None developed (irregular-shaped slopes); V-shapes can
occur.
Special Features
Star- and irregular-shaped, steep-sloped hills, dunes.
Color (Photo Gray Tones)
Bright to very light, grassland is dull gray.
Land Use
Rangeland or abandoned.
Vegetation
Grassland, salt brush, mesquite, often barren.
Source: Terrain analysis procedural guide for surface configuration, US Army engineer
topographic laboratories, p. 7-65