20 Things You Didn’t Know About Dune

As previously stated, Frank Herbert was into ecology in a big way; influencing a lot of the rationale for the Dune universe and Arrakis in particular. This well realised, highly detailed fictional planet didn’t spring from a vacuum, however, and was actually inspired by the small city of Florence, Oregon.

Here, Herbert had been contracted to write an article about sand dune encroachment on the local highways and the local authority’s attempt to stop it. Herbert, by his own admission, got over-involved and ended up with way more material than he needed for the article. It’s even funnier, then, that said article was never published.

Additionally, it’s possible the local authority’s attempt to control the dunes also inspired Herbert’s fascination with terraforming. Throughout the book series, Arrakis is terraformed a few times into different landscapes and real-life examples of ecological engineering likely inspired this. It’s strange to think that the sand dunes of a small pacific north-west city became the seed for one of the greatest sci-fi novels ever written, proving that inspiration really can come from anywhere.