Sand dune
A dark sandy brown named for the colour of some sand dunes
Sand dune is a dark brown shade that matches the look of sand dunes made of darker sand. The name first appeared in English in 1925. Its colour coordinates are the same as those for drab, mode beige, and bistre brown, which are other names for similar shades.
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- Sand dune is a dark brown shade like some sand dunes.
- First recorded as a colour name in English in 1925.
- It is the same colour as drab, mode beige, and bistre brown.
What colour is Sand dune?
Sand dune is a dark brown colour, similar to the shade of sand found in certain dunes where the sand is darker than usual. It stands out from lighter sandy colours by its deeper, earthier tone. The colour is also known by other names, including drab, mode beige, and bistre brown, as they share the same colour coordinates.
Where does Sand dune come from?
The name 'sand dune' comes from the appearance of some sand dunes that are made up of dark-coloured sand. The term was first used as a colour name in English in 1925. Other names for this same shade, such as drab, mode beige, and bistre brown, have been recorded at different times, with 'drab' dating back to 1686.
Brown around the world
What the brown family means from country to country.
Brown is the colour of Nazism in German political speech, after the brown shirts of the party's stormtroopers. To call a view "brown" is to call it far right.
Politics and protestDanger and warningShameSource: SturmabteilungMasi is bark cloth beaten from paper mulberry and printed in brown and black. It is worn at weddings and funerals and given in ceremonial exchanges.
Sacred and holyWeddings and marriageSource: Tapa clothKuntunkuni is a dark brown mourning cloth of the Asante, dyed with tree bark. Adinkra cloth, stamped with symbols, was first made on such dark grounds for funerals.
Mourning and deathSadnessSource: Adinkra symbolsThe batik of the Javanese courts at Yogyakarta and Surakarta is dyed in soga brown with indigo and cream. Some court patterns were once reserved for the royal family.
Royalty and powerPrideSource: BatikBogolanfini, or mud cloth, is cotton painted with fermented river mud in browns, black and white. Hunters wear it for protection, and women after childbirth.
Protection and healingSacred and holySource: B貌g貌lanfiniShades and relatives of Sand dune
Sand dune is identical in colour to drab, mode beige, and bistre brown. These names have been used for the same shade in English at different times. While the names differ, the colour itself remains the same, a dark sandy brown.
Colours that go with Sand dune
Harmonies are worked out from the value #967117. Contrast ratios follow the WCAG 2 formula.
Questions people ask about Sand dune
What colour is sand dune?
Sand dune is a dark brown shade, similar to the colour of sand dunes made from darker sand.
When was sand dune first used as a colour name?
The term 'sand dune' was first recorded as a colour name in English in 1925.
Are there other names for this colour?
Yes, sand dune is also known as drab, mode beige, and bistre brown. These names all refer to the same colour coordinates.
Good reading and sources
The facts on this page come from the Wikipedia article "Desert sand (color)" (the section "Sand dune (Drab)"), written by its contributors and used under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence. Rang rewrote the text in its own words, with AI assistance, and compares every page with the article to make sure no passage is copied. It may be reused under the same CC BY-SA 4.0 licence with a link back.
It may contain mistakes. The swatch is an approximation: named colours are not fixed standards, and every screen shows them a little differently. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-03.
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