White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, USA

Photo by ntalka

The White Sands National Monument is a U.S. National Monument located in western Otero County and northeastern Dona Ana County in the state of New Mexico. The area is in the mountain-ringed Tularosa Basin valley area and comprises the southern part of a field of white sand dunes composed of gypsum crystals.
Gypsum is rarely found in the form of sand because it is water-soluble. Normally, rain would dissolve the gypsum and carry it to the sea. Since the Tularosa Basin has no outlet to the sea, rain that dissolves gypsum from the surrounding San Andres and Sacramento Mountains is trapped within the basin, and the rain either sinks into the ground or forms shallow pools which subsequently dry out and leave gypsum in a crystalline form, called selenite, on the surface. During the last ice age, a lake known as Lake Otero covered much of the basin. When it dried out, it left a large flat area of selenite crystals which is now the Alkali Flat.
The first exploration of the White Sands was led by a party of US Army officers in 1849. The idea of creating a national park here goes back at least to 1898. But only in 1933 President Herbert Hoover created the White Sands National Monument.
From the visitor center at the entrance of the park, the Dunes Drive leads 8 miles (12 km) into the dunes. Four marked trails allow to explore the dunes by foot. Unlike dunes made of quartz-based sand crystals, the gypsum does not readily convert the sun's energy into heat and thus can be walked upon safely with bare feet, even in the hottest summer months. [read the full article at Wikipedia]


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Photo by Dolor Ipsum


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Photo by Jeremy Chen


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Photo by Jeff Kubina

Satellite view


Coordinates: 32°50'23.43"N 106°18'35.52"W

Nearest big city: Alamogordo (25 km)

Best time for visiting: Winter

Official website: http://www.nps.gov/whsa/index.htm

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Hey! I've found an interesting article about this place at <a href="http://wowtravelblog.blogspot.com/">WOW!Travel</a> blog. I absolutely love it and want to visit it one day. Join me! <br/><br/><a href=" http://wowtravelblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/white-sands-national-monument-new.html">White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, USA<br/><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3109/3141030615_ebda185bba.jpg" /></a><br/>(Photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/natalyagoryakina/">ntalka</a>)<br/><br/>See more photos and read the story about this place <a href=" http://wowtravelblog.blogspot.com/2009/09/white-sands-national-monument-new.html">here</a>.
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