Massive continents collide, the Earth’s crust crumbles and is pulled back into the mantle, melts down into magma, and is reborn in eruptions like this, building new land. Everything, including us, eventually goes back to the source to begin again, writes Carrie Ching for HPR.

Like sand itself, dunes also play an important role in coastlines, protecting them from storms, tsunamis, erosion and inland flooding. Protecting us, writes Carrie Ching for HPR.