The Great Sand Dunes

This week we explore the Great Sand Dunes of the San Luis Valley, another fascinating aspect of the Vortex. There is a multitude of myths and theories surrounding the presence of the Great Sand Dunes.

Spanish explorers began traversing the San Luis Valley in the 16th century, but it wasn't until 1851 that the town of San Luis was actually established. Throughout the records of these explorations, there is no documentation even mentioning the sand dunes. The first mention of these great dunes comes in 1806-107 when a Lieutenant noted that the dunes looked like the sea in a storm but were a beige color.

The Great Sand Dunes National Monument was later designated by President Hoover in 1932. So how did these Dunes come to be? Currently, the historical documentation tells us that lying beneath the Valley, is a giant volcano. This region is now buried under the remnants of one of the deadliest volcanic eruptions in history. Somewhere between 25-40 million years ago, volcanoes erupted along the mountains of the Southern Rockies. The San Dunes is over 70% volcanic ash that allegedly remains from this eruption. Underneath the valley floor lies an aquifer estimated to be over 140 million acres, a trapped ocean underneath the volcanic rubble.

What adds to the strangeness of this entire story, is one part of the Sand Dunes called, "the Crestone Crater." This crater is located on the north side of the Dunes, bordering Crestone and measures about 355 feet by 246 feet, with a depth of over 20 feet. There are many theories surrounding this crater, some say it was a fallen meteorite, some say it was formed by "wind", and others speculate it could be the imprint of a UFO ship landing.

According to reports, there were eye-witness accounts of a fireball crashing into the dunes back in the late 1800's. However, the crater was not discovered until 1934 by a Crestone resident. Many studies have been done on this crater, including by a Denver geologist named Dr. H. H. Nininger in 1941. He claimed the crater was due to a meteorite. A later study done in the 1960's came to the conclusion that the crater was formed by wind.

The Colorado School of Mines students did a more recent study in which they claimed that if it was a meteorite crash, there were many anomalies in its size and shape. If you would ask locals, I'm sure most would agree, the odds are likely that a UFO or Galactic ship in origin could in fact be the source of the Crater.

If you are traveling to the Valley for the Vortex Festival August 8th-9th, 2026, or traveling here at any time, make sure to check out the Great Sand Dunes!

Aurora