The Indiana Dunes: Ancient Hills of Sand on Lake Michigan
June 12, 2012
A winter storm whips the Indiana Dunes area.
FAITH LAPIDUS: This is Faith Lapidus.
STEVE EMBER: And this is Steve Ember with the VOA Special English program EXPLORATIONS. Today we visit the Indiana Dunes. These hills of sand are near Chicago, Illinois. They rise on the shores of Lake Michigan, one of America's five Great Lakes.
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FAITH LAPIDUS: More than two million people visit the sand hills in the middle-western state of Indiana each year. The winds along Lake Michigan created some of these dunes in ancient times. Other dunes may be building right now. The winds create dunes when they drop loose sand onto land. Some dunes look partly round. Others take the form of long, narrow hills.
Visitors from all over the world explore the area near the Indiana Dunes. They swim and sail on the lake. They watch birds in the wetlands. They study plant life in the rich forests of oak and maple trees. The smooth sands of the dunes and lakeshore make a clear musical sound when people walk on them. Some of these sounds can be heard ten meters away. Visitors often say that the sand dunes "sing."
STEVE EMBER: The Indiana state government and the federal government control more than six thousand hectares of land along the lake. They operate parks with visitors' areas and scientific research stations. Supervision by these agencies guarantees that the land will always belong to the public. Laws protect the plants, animals, and natural and historical points of interest.
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