The Great Dune of Pyla (or Pilat) (French: la Dune du Pyla, or Pilat) is the tallest sand dune in Europe. It is located in La Teste-de-Buch in the Arcachon Bay area, France, 60 km from Bordeaux.
Pilat is sometimes spelled Pyla, hence the alternative name "dune of Pyla". More accurately, Pyla is the name of the closest town, Pyla-sur-Mer, which is part of La Teste-de-Buch municipality in the Gironde department. The correct and original name of the dune is the Dune of Pilat, but because of the confusion that occurred, both are now considered correct.
Characteristics
The dune has a volume of about 60,000,000 m³, measuring around 500 m wide from east to west and 3 km in length from north to south. Its height is 107 metres above sea level.
On 24 January 2009, a peak windspeed of 175 km/h was recorded during a storm at the dune, damaging the dune.
