The Deserts of Colorado Trivia Quiz

Answer: 1932

Great Sand Dunes National Monument was established on March 17, 1932 by President Herbert Hoover. The National Monument originally covered an area a little over 55 square miles. On December 24, 2004 the boundaries of the National Monument were increased to slightly over 165 square miles and the name was changed to Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.

The park contains some of the largest sand dunes in North America.

Answer: Alamosa

Great Sand Dunes National Park is located to the northeast of the city of Alamosa in southern Colorado, which has a population of over 8,700 people. It only takes about 40-45 minutes to drive to Alamosa from the visitor center of the park, where as the other cities would take nearly four hours or more to get to by road. Great Sand Dunes National Park spreads across northern Alamosa County, as well as southern Saguache County.

The building in the photograph is the Alamosa County Courthouse.

Answer: Star Dune

Star Dune is one of the tallest sand dunes at Great Sand Dunes National Park, as well as one of the tallest in all of North America. Star Dune reaches a height of 750 ft (229m) from the base to the summit. Another one of the tallest dunes at the park is named simply High Dune and is over 700 ft tall as well. Great Sand Dunes National Park is also designated as an International Dark Sky Park; it is an ideal location for people to do some stargazing as the area has very little light pollution.

Answer: Blanca Peak

Blanca Peak is a mountain located about 15 miles south of the entrance to Great Sand Dunes National Park. It considered to be a sacred mountain to the Navajo native American tribe who named the mountain Sisnaajini which translates to "Dawn or White Shell Mountain". Blanca Peak is ranked as the fourth highest summit in the entire Rocky Mountain chain with an elevation of 14,351 ft (4,374 m).

Answer: snowmelt from the mountains

Medano Creek is formed by the flow of snowmelt that comes from the nearby mountain range. The height of the water varies depending on the time of year. Typically Modano Creek will start to flow around late April and will reach its maximum flow around late May or early June, during which time tourists will have the best chance to enjoy the water.

The water begins to recede around late June or early July and will be nearly completely dried up around August or September.

Answer: San Luis Valley

San Luis Valley is located in southern Colorado between the San Juan Mountains which lie to the west and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains which lie to the east. The valley also extends southward into northern New Mexico. Great Sand Dunes National Park sits at the far eastern end of the valley.

The Rio Grande, which originates in the San Juan Mountains, flows through the San Luis Valley and continues south through New Mexico and forms the natural border between Texas and Mexico.

Answer: a street legal 4WD vehicle

As tourists make their way through the main road at Great Sand Dunes National Park, they will eventually reach a parking area designated The Point of No Return. Beyond this is the entrance to the Medano Pass Primitive Road, which can only be traversed if they have a street legal 4WD equipped vehicle with high ground clearance.

In addition to 4WD vehicles, the park does allow "fat bikes" on Medano Pass unless the sand is deemed to be too soft for them to be safely ridden.

Answer: Tiger

The Great Sand Dunes tiger beetle (cicindela theatina) is an insect that is native to the park. In fact, it is believed to be the only place where these particular beetles can be found. The Great Sand Dunes tiger beetles grow to about half an inch in length and have an average lifespan of approximately two and a half years.

The insect can be easily identified by looking for the violin shaped design on its back.

Answer: Blood of Christ

The Sangre de Cristo Mountains are a subrange of the Rocky Mountains that are located to the north and east of Great Sand Dunes National Park. The aforementioned Blanca Peak is considered to be a part of this subrange. The Sangre de Cristo Mountains are 242 miles in length and 120 miles in width and stretch from southern Colorado to northern New Mexico.

The mountain range was given its name by Spanish explorer Antonio Valverde y Cosio in 1719.

Answer: Quarter

Following the 50 State Quarters program which ran from 1999-2008, the United States Mint began issuing the America the Beautiful Quarters in 2010. The America the Beautiful Quarters each feature a special design engraved on the tails side of the coin.

There are 56 designs in total, each one representing a national park or landmark in each of the 50 U.S. states as well as 6 other American territories. Great Sand Dunes National Park was chosen to represent the state of Colorado.