On the northwest side of the dunefield, a special group of dunes called the Star Dune Complex sits to next to Sand Creek. Unlike other areas of the Great Sand Dunes where wind regularly comes from only one or two directions, the Star Dune Complex is influenced by a multimodal wind regime. Multimodal is a term to describe winds that come from many directions. Star dunes have three or more "arms" radiating from the dune peak.