Wandering Dune of Sylt

The yellow giant, an impressive picture.

Shifting dunes are sand drifts that constantly move on due to the constant wind. On Sylt there were shifting dunes in both the north and south until the end of the 19th century. List and Rantum in particular suffered in the past centuries from the mountains of sand, which buried fields and pastures as well as entire houses. Most of the dunes today are planted so they cannot move.
Listland is an exception, where the only and last shifting dune in Germany is located today. The bare sand mountains are blown further and further east by the steady westerly wind. The entire area between List and the west beach is therefore under nature protection and may not be entered. Exceptions are the few hiking trails that have been set up here and lead through the middle of the area. Some of the dunes are also planted here, but the largest of the dunes still moves up to seven meters a year.