Sand dunes often provide the backdrop for a scenic ... Inland, you'll find the equally impressive Landes de Gascogne Regional Nature Park, the largest artificial forest on the continent.

On the Atlantic coast of southwestern France, Dune du Pilat is a breathtaking ... this towering mass of golden sand sits between the Atlantic Ocean and the vast Landes Forest, creating a stunning ...

This story appears in the November 2012 issue of National Geographic magazine. I got my first lesson in the physics of sand dunes in 1998 on an expedition into the Sahara. In order to take aerial ...