White Sands National Monument - Nature and Science
The largest pure gypsum dune field in the world is located at White Sands National Monument in south-central New Mexico. This region of glistening white dunes is in the northern end of the Chihuahuan
Desert within an "internally drained valley" called the Tularosa Basin. The
monument ranges in elevation from 3890" to 4116" above sea level. There are
approximately 275 total square miles of dune fields here, with 115 square
miles (about 40%) located within White Sands National Monument. The
remainder is on military land that is not open to the public. This dune
field is very dynamic, with the most active dunes moving to the northeast at
a rate of up to 30 feet per year, while the more stable areas of sand move
very little. The pure gypsum (hydrous calcium sulfate) that forms these
unusual dunes originates in the western portion of the monument from an
ephemeral lake or playa with a very high mineral content. As the water
evaporates (theoretically as much as 80" per year!), the minerals are left
behind to form gypsum deposits that eventually are wind-transported to form
these white sand dunes. Many species of plants and animals have developed
very specialized means of surviving in this area of cold winters, hot
summers, with very little surface water and highly mineralized ground water.
Natural Features
Other Life Forms
Air Quality
Nonnative Species
Deserts
Lakes and Ponds
Sand Dunes
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