The northern province Inner Mongolia hosts China's unknown Gobi Alashan: like the storm surge of a petrified ocean, dunes a thousand feet tall roll across northern China's Alashan Plateau. Salty spring-fed lakes stud this corner of the Gobi like colored jewels. Once ignored, such natural deserts now help scientists understand--even reclaim--the barren landscapes created by human exploitation of fragile soils and scarce water resources.