Erosion of fixed dunes in the Sahel, Central Niger

During the 1974 rainy season gullies of the order of 150–300 m long were active on the flanks of fixed Pleistocene dunes in the vicinity of Janjari, central Niger. The gullies terminate on small (0.5–1 × 10 4 m 2 ) alluvial fans, where sand deposition had occurred below the intersection point. Gully activity was probably the result of a particularly severe storm. Comparison between fixed dunes subject to differing climatic conditions suggests that gullying and alluvial fan formation may be characteristic of a restricted morphoclimatic zone.