hav
e
engulfed
2
75 square
miles of desert h
ere and cr
eated the largest
gypsum dune
field in
the world. T
he dunes,
bril
li
ant and
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by
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advanced
white
, are ev
er changing. They gro
w, crest, then s
lump but always ad
vance. Slowly but relentlessly the sand,
driven by strong southwest winds, cov
ers everything in its path.
Within the extremely hars
h environment of the dune f
ield, even plant
s and animals adapted to d
esert conditions stru
ggle to survive. Only
a few species of plants grow
rapidly enough to s
urvive burial by the mov
ing dunes, but several t
ypes of sm
all animals have evolved
white colorations to camouflage them in
the gypsu
m sand. Whi
te Sands
National
Monument preserves a
major part of this gypsu
m dune field, along with t
3000 M Gun Range
he plants and an
imals that have adapted suc
cessfully t
o this con
stantly changing environment.A
Torres Lab
t the northern end of the
Chihuahuan Desert lies a moun
tain-ringed valley
, the Tularosa B
asin. Rising from the
heart of this
basin is one of the wo
rld's great natural wond
ers-the glisteni
ng white sands of
New Mexico. Grea
t wave-like dunes o
f gypsum sand hav
e engulfed
275 square miles
of desert here and created the largest gypsum dune field in t
he world. T
he dunes, brillia
nt and white,
are ever changing. They grow, crest, the
n slump but always advance. Slowly but
relentlessly the sand, d
riven by strong southwest winds, covers everyth
ing in its path. Within the
extremely harsh enviro
nment of the dune field, eve
n plants a
Brochures
nd animals
adapted to desert co
nditions strugg
le to survive. Only a
few species
of plants
grow rapidly enough to s
urvive bu
rial b
y th
e mov
ing
dunes,
but seve
ral types o
f small animals
have
evolved white colora
Site Map
tions to camo
uflage them in
the gypsu
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