Sand Dunes

A landscape
on the move.

Wind lifts the grains. Sheltered sand settles. Watch ridges grow, slip and drift across a little desert.

0.0highest point · units

0%sand redistributed

Wind strength Steady Blowing toward Starting landscape

Wind changes apply now. Choosing a starting landscape restarts the scene.

Shape the sand Tool

Drag to orbit · Scroll to zoom · Right-drag to pan

View Show drifting grains

Try 3×, then turn the wind. Fences shelter sand and can become buried. Sand leaving an edge returns on the opposite side; this is an accelerated illustration.

body > main { display: none; }.simulation-fallback { max-width: 720px; margin: auto; padding: 24px; line-height: 1.6; }.simulation-fallback img { width: 100%; height: auto; }← Explore all worlds

Sand Dunes

Watch wind shape a little desert. Turn the breeze, place sand fences, and follow grains as ridges grow and drift.

Golden sand ridges across a desert cutaway, with a small wind arrow above the dunes.

Enable JavaScript in a browser with WebGL 2 to run this interactive simulation.

A dune is a mound of sand shaped by wind. The grains move in little hops, and steep slopes slide down under their own weight.

Wind picks up exposed sand and carries it downwind. Behind a ridge or a fence, sheltered grains are more likely to settle.
When sand piles up too steeply, it slips downhill. Grains move while the dune slowly changes shape and position.
Sand fences slow the drift nearby. They let some grains through and can become buried as sand builds up. Removing a fence leaves the sand in place.
Paint sand lets you brush new mounds onto the landscape, even while paused. Ground change shows removal in blue and buildup in rust. Grains leaving an edge return on the opposite side.

Try this: Choose Flat sand, add a central fence and try 10×. Watch where sand collects, then reverse the wind. Scene only hides the controls for recording; Escape or the bottom-right corner brings them back. This is an accelerated illustration, not a forecast of a real desert.