When we think of the “desert,” usually huge expanses of sand, blistering sun, and blazing temperature shoot into our minds. Since childhood, we have been taught that deserts actually have no water. But have you ever seen a desert that had more water than sand? The beauty of such a place will leave you in a trance. We are talking of the Lencois Maranhenses National Park of Brazil.
This park located in the state of Maranhao, northeastern Brazil, looks like a desert from a distance, but it is not a desert. Like many people will know, a real desert receives less than 250 millimeters of rain per year. In sharp contrast, it receives over 1200 millimeters on average every year. More than 700 millimeters of this rain, in fact, falls from January to May. With this type of characteristics, this region cannot be called a desert.
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Yet, high white sand dunes of Lencois Maranhenses National Park give reminiscent of a desert. You won’t get water even if you dig deep in an absolute desert. In this park, however, you will find lakes between the sand dunes. These are transparent and fresh water lakes, sometimes 3 meters deep if measured—going deeper according to the rainy season.
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Normally, pouring water on sand causes it to disappear very fast. But that’s not the case with the Lencois Maranhenses National Park. There’s a strong layer of rock below which lets the water filter through the sand and collect below, rather than out-flowing between the dunes.
Lencois Maranhenses National Park has also been a popular place for movies. So many movies, such as “Avengers: The Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame,” were shot in this film. The fine landscapes of this park have been presented in Marvel and Disney movies time and again.
