Lençóis Maranhenses · Lakes in the White Sand

The Lençóis in Maranhão is a stretch of white dunes that goes on past the horizon; in the rainy season fresh-water lakes gather between them, green in colour, and fish and shrimp live in them for a season.

There is no river and no underground reservoir beneath the dunes; the water is rain that has been held. In the dry season the lakes vanish and the fish survive in the mud, waiting for the next one.

Local guides take visitors across the dunes barefoot, saying that is how you avoid sinking. At dusk the sand turns gold, then cools quickly.

Natural Mysteries / Maranhão · Brazil / Time immemorial