the song of the dunes of Khongor, a phenomenon that has remained misunderstood for a long time!

the song of the dunes of Khongor, a phenomenon that has remained misunderstood for a long time!
the song of the dunes of Khongor, a phenomenon that has remained misunderstood for a long time!

The Khongor Dunes, named “Khongoryn Els” or “Khongoriin Els”, are located in the eastern Gobi Desert, Mongolia. When their sand moves under the effect of the wind, the footsteps of a walker or an animal, certain dunes emit a deep and powerful sound, called dune song. The faster the sand is moved, the higher the sound. The larger quantities we move, the more serious it is. Around thirty roaring dunes have been recorded around the world, particularly in China but also in the Mojave Desert in California, in Namibia, in the Arabian Peninsula and the Sahara. “Each dune has its song,” explains Stéphane Douady, physicist at the CNRS. “Those from Morocco have very vocal tones, while those from Oman, which are the ones that sing most easily, sound more like brass instruments.”

A Chinese manuscript from the 8th century reports the existence of a dune that the locals tumbled down to cause it to roar. In the 13th century, Marco Polo reported the strange sounds that could sometimes be heard in the Chinese desert of Taklamakan. Later, Charles Darwin, in Chile, described this harmonious resonance, which can reach 110 decibels, the intensity of a symphony orchestra playing Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony! In Arabia, it was thought that this phenomenon was caused by jinn running on the sand, while in Peru, drum-beating spirits were suspected. In the 19th century, the German naturalist Alexander von Humboldt (…)

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