Place

Wayside: What a View!

An informational sign stands to the side of a bench at a viewpoint along a forested trail — "What a View!" wayside sign at a viewpoint along the Empire Bluff trail

Audio Description

Main Exhibit Text

Why has this place been protected as a national park? Look off in the distance. Can you see the bare cliff of sand?

Thousands of years ago this entire area was covered by very slow moving, massive sheets of ice called continental glaciers. Their bulldozer-like movements sculpted the earth, carving deeply in some spots, while pushing up layers of soil, sand, gravel, and rock in others. Around 14,000 years ago the glaciers started to melt, leaving behind high ridges called moraines. Over time, winds deposited sand on top of the shoreline moraines, creating perched dunes. Perched dunes are only found in a few places on Earth. Wind, water, and weather continue to change this dynamic, yet fragile landscape.

Image Descriptions

Background Image

The background of this exhibit is a modern photograph of a dune cliff that descends into the blue waters of Lake Michigan. The dune is mostly sandy and beige with small tufts of green vegetation sprouting up on the slope and crest.

Caption

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore preserves outstanding natural features, including forests, beaches, dune formations, and ancient glacial phenomena in their natural setting for current and future generations.

View of Lake Michigan from a perched dune

Dune Cliff (top center)

Near the top center of the exhibit, a circular pop out image shows an inset photo of the dune cliff. An area of the cliff is circled and a white arrow points to the main background image, indicating which section of the dune the main image portrays.

Illustrated Dune Graphic (bottom right)

On the lower right side of the exhibit, there is an illustrated graphic of a dune. The graphic is titled “Making a Dune” and includes a directional arrow from left to right indicating the wind direction. Labels on the dune include: sand grains drifting along by wind, sand grains piling up, perched dune, and slip face.