Råbjerg Mile

Råbjerg Mile is a migrating coastal dune between Skagen and Frederikshavn, Denmark. It is the largest moving dune in Northern Europe with an area of around 1 km² (0.4 mi²) and a height of 40 m (130 ft). The dune contains a total of 4 million m3 of sand. The wind moves it in a north-easterly direction up to 18 m a year. The dune leaves a low, moist layer of sand behind it, trailing back westwards towards Skagerrak, where the Mile originally formed more than 300 years ago. Over 250,000 people visit the dune every year.

In northern Jutland in the 16th and 17th centuries shifting dunes were a problem for the population: huge dunes, some stretching up to 7 km (4 mi) inland drove them back from the coastal areas, but in the 19th century the government acted to alleviate the problem. The Sand Drift Act of 1857 allowed the state to buy or expropriate areas of sand drift, and a further Act in 1857 allowed the purchase of areas adjacent to the drifts. Dune grasses and conifers were planted to stabilize the sands and these plantations became common after 1880. Although barren, the dune zone allowed limited sheep farming and some inshore fishing. By the 1950s the dune drifts were under control.