Samalayuca Dune Fields

The Samalayuca Dune Fields are a vast dune system in northern Chihuahua, part of the Chihuahuan Desert, formed by wind-blown quartz sand near Samalayuca south of Ciudad Juárez. Long known as Los Médanos, they created one of the hardest obstacles on the Chihuahua Trail of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro, where deep shifting sand slowed caravans, trapped carts, exhausted animals, and made water scarce and Apache attacks a constant danger. After Juan de Oñate detoured around them in 1598, both the alternative and direct crossings remained in use. Today the dunes are important for their striking landscape, rare desert habitat, tourism, and silica-rich sands.

Chihuahua · Mexico