White Sands National Monument- Interesting Facts

I recently shared some photos of our quick visit to White Sands National Monument, so for anyone who is curious, here are some facts about this unique and captivating place:

White Sands is located in the Tularosa Basin of New Mexico. The large gypsum deposits of the area were created long ago when a sea covered much of New Mexico. Gypsum was left behind on the seafloor. As geological conditions changed throughout the millennia, with passing ice ages and separation of the supercontinent, Pangea, the sea no longer covered this area, but the gypsum sand dunes were left behind.

The glistening gypsum dunes have not blown away because they are held together with moisture. Inches below the surface of the dunes is a vast amount of water, providing moisture so the dunes remain intact. While it is rare to find gypsum as sand, due to its water solubility it is typically dissolved by rain and carried away to the sea, however White Sands remains because there is no outlet to the sea and the surrounding mountains help contain the moisture as groundwater.

The idea of creating a national park out of this majestic land has been around since 1989, and it wasn’t until 1933 that President Hoover designated the park a national monument. White Sands is still attempting to reach national park status with the latest proposal as recent at this year.

Many movies have used the white dunes in their films. The list includes Transformers, Hange ‘Em High, and The Man Who Fell to Earth.