Controlling Sand Dunes 



45 



Sand Dune Encroaching on Railroad, Near The Dalles, Oreg. 



The sand is deposited during the highwater of the Columbia River and then blown east- 

 ward, in many places crossing the tracks of the O. R. and N. Ry. The fences are intended to 

 carry the sand parallel to instead of upon the track. However, these fences do not entirely 

 pievent the evil, and the sand must be removed from the tracks daily. Similar conditions 

 exist in many places along the railroad from The Dalles to Riparia, Wash. 



fall are reversed, the rain coming in the 

 winter and the dunes forming during 

 the dry summer. 



More or less successful efforts have 

 been made at various times to ' ' fix ' ' 

 the dunes and thus prevent the serious 

 injury which they cause to valuable 

 property. 



In order to attack these problems 

 more intelligently, the writer was sent 

 by the Department of Agriculture to in- 

 vestigate the methods used in Europe, 

 where work of this character has en- 

 gaged the attention of the various gov- 

 ernments for 50 years or more, and 

 where the efforts in fixation or reclama- 



tion have been more successful than 

 anywhere else in the world. 



For this purpose typical dune areas in 

 Holland, Denmark, Prussia, and France 

 were visited. In all cases the reclama- 

 tion is carried on by the general govern- 

 ment, sometimes assisted by the local 

 government, as private individuals are 

 unable to bring to bear upon the problem 

 sufficient means or continuity of pur- 

 pose. 



The fundamental principle of dune 

 fixation is to cover the sand with a layer 

 of any material which will prevent the 

 access of the wind to the surface and 

 thus prevent drifting. The kind of cov- 



