From the air, the mesmerizing tapestry of sandy dunes and lagoons you see here gives Lençóis Maranhenses National Park an otherworldly, desert-like appearance. Located in the sparsely populated northeast corner of Brazil, this park gets far too much annual rainfall—nearly 50 inches—to be considered a desert. In fact, heavy rain is part of what makes this place unique: Nearly 70% of its annual rainfall comes between January and May, filling the park"s nearly 40,000 lagoons to the brim with fresh rainwater. Why doesn"t the water sink into the sand? A layer of impermeable bedrock beneath the dunes prevents that from happening.
White dunes, blue lagoons
Today in History
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Seven Magic Mountains art installation, Jean Dry Lake, Nevada
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Books for children of all ages
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Pascua Florida Day
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Whangārei Falls in New Zealand
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Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, East Java, Indonesia
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Beech trees and wild anemones, Jutland, Denmark
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Sandstone formations in the badlands near Caineville, Utah
More Desktop Wallpapers:
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The birthplace of a classic Christmas carol
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A memorial in Germany
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International Sloth Day
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Siblings Day
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A long, erratic commute
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Venice by night
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Riding the bore tide at Turnagain Arm, Cook Inlet, Alaska
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A fair that s star-studded
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Get on your bike and ride
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Wildebeests in Maasai Mara, Kenya
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Let the games begin
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A narrow passage
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It s ∞ Day!
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Preservation Hall in New Orleans, Louisiana
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Is that a face in the sand?
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Flamingos of the Chilean desert
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Come out of your shell for World Turtle Day
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Storks ready for takeoff
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Medieval towers in Mestia, Upper Svaneti, Georgia
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Torres del Paine National Park in Patagonia, Chile
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Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Impala in Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana
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The party’s just starting
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Tree of many colors
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Squirrel Appreciation Day
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Poinsettia Day
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Ruins of a royal temple
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Atop the Needle of Chamonix
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A big birthday for Big Bend
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Longer days mean warmer sand