White Sands National Monument

White Sands National Monument

Easily mistaken for snow, these brilliantly white rolling drifts are actually the world’s largest gypsum dunefield.

The 275 square mile New Mexico desert, known as White Sands National Monument, is a remarkable place both for its beauty and its improbability. Gypsum dissolves in water and normally is washed out to sea before it can grow into such large dunes. In White Sands, however, gypsum washed down from the San Andres and Sacramento Mountains remains trapped in the Tularosa Basin, where it accumulates into a snow white desert.

 

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12 Comments on “White Sands National Monument”

  1. Jackie January 18, 2012 at 9:33 am #

    Wow—this place looks amazing! Adding it to my bucket list.

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  2. Bukit Bear January 18, 2012 at 9:56 am #

    Thanks for posting… Made the mistake of watching sunset out there… and then having to try and find the car park in the dark…

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  3. antarabesque January 18, 2012 at 11:14 am #

    That is amazing. Thank you.

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  4. Max Reynolds January 18, 2012 at 7:35 pm #

    I’ve been there and they are remarkable. Thanks for prompting some good memories and sharing.

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  5. Marcia Clarke January 18, 2012 at 9:42 pm #

    What a beautiful shot!

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  6. customtripplanning January 19, 2012 at 9:40 am #

    I have nominated you for the Versatile Blogger Award! Go to my blog to find out about it.

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  7. Deano January 19, 2012 at 11:44 am #

    One of my favourite places. Glad to see you made it there. Nice photo

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  8. Jennifer Peek | Peek Family Adventures January 19, 2012 at 3:48 pm #

    We were there on Christmas Day 2010, and it was amazing (and not very crowded!). My kids posed by the entry sign the same way my brother and I had over 30 years ago – yes, I was a kid then! We went back several days later, and it was incredibly windy. Similar to you, we keep a blog on our family adventures and this certainly made the cut (see the 12/26/2010 and 12/31/2010 posts).

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  9. ourweirdandwonderfulworld January 19, 2012 at 8:15 pm #

    Hiw beautiful is the white sand against the blue sky! Great photo and thanks for sharing.

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  10. Kristina January 20, 2012 at 9:51 am #

    Incredible!

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Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. Photo of the Day: Great Sand Dunes National Park | Everywhere Once - January 25, 2012

    […] week’s post on White Sands National Monument reminded me of one of my favorite places. White Sands is neat, but Colorado’s Great Sand […]

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  2. American Safari | Everywhere Once - January 30, 2012

    […] represented here are the wolves we heard, but never saw, at White Sands National Monument; the wily big horned sheep that wouldn’t give up a good photo; the giant tarantula-looking spider […]

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