Tallest coastal sand dune

Reaching a height of at least 280 metres (918 feet), Mount Tempest on Moreton Island, off the south-east coast of Queensland, Australia, is the tallest sand dune in Australia and the tallest coastal sand dune in the world.

Mount Tempest is an example of a transgressive sand dune. Transgressive dunes are also known as mobile or migratory dunes and sand drifts. Such dunefields are generally located where wave energy is high and sand supply is, or was, moderate to high, or where significant coastal erosion has occurred. Transgressive dunefields can be unvegetated, partially vegetated or completely vegetated (relict) and the dunes often have a sinuous shape (Hesp, 2005).

The world's second-tallest coastal sand dune is also located on Moreton Island: Storm Mountain stands around 264 metres (866 feet) tall.