The Maspalomas Dunes ( es, Dunas de Maspalomas) are sand dunes located on the south coast of the island of

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain. the island had a population of that ...

Province of Las Palmas The Province of Las Palmas (, ; es, Provincia de Las Palmas) is a province of Spain, consisting of the eastern part of the autonomous community of the Canary Islands. Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, capital city of this province and of the isla ...

, in the Canary Islands. A area of the municipality of

San Bartolomé de Tirajana San Bartolomé de Tirajana is a village and a Spanish municipality in the south-eastern part of the island of Gran Canaria in the Las Palmas province in the Canary Islands. With an area of , San Bartolomé de Tirajana is the largest municipa ...

, they have been protected as a nature reserve since 1987. They were one of the contenders in the 12 Treasures of Spain competition. They were formed by sand from the now subdued marine shelf, when it was laid dry during the last ice age and the wind blew the sand towards the coast of the island.

References

Dunes of Spain Protected areas of the Canary Islands Landforms of Gran Canaria {{CanaryIslands-stub