aklé

views updated May 21 2018

aklé A French name for a network of sand dunes that is found especially in the western Sahara. The basic unit of the network is a sinuous ridge, at right angles to the wind, made up of crescent-shaped sections which alternately face the wind (linguoid) and back the wind (barchanoid). Aklé patterns require winds from one direction and a large quantity of sand. (See illustration.)

aklé

views updated May 08 2018

aklé French term for a network of sand dunes found especially in the western Sahara. The basic unit of the network is a sinuous ridge, at right angles to the wind, made up of crescent-shaped sections which alternately face the wind (linguoid) and back to the wind (barchanoid). Aklé patterns require winds from one direction, and a large quantity of sand.