CHAPTER IV 



Ice and Snow in the Sand Dunes 



*'Come and see the north-wind's masonry^ 



— Emerson 



IT is very unusual for the dunes to be held 

 down by such an unbroken coating of snow 

 and ice, that the blowing of the sand ceases 

 and dune growth and change are stilled. 

 This state of affairs occurred, however, in 

 the winter of 1919-20. The earlier snow- 

 storms of the winter were heavy and wet; 

 the snow fell quietly, coating the sand 

 thickly and freezing into a solid sheet. Later 

 storms added to the accumulation and the dry 

 surface snow blew about and formed drifts that 

 were, for the most part, spotless white and free 

 from contamination with the darker sand which 

 was held prisoner below. Winter is generally 

 the season of greatest movement in the dunes, 



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