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Located in the
Tularosa Basin in southern New Mexico is one of the great,
natural wonders of the world, a glistening sea of graceful white
gypsum sand dunes- At its heart is the White
Sands National Monument. |
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Parabolic dunes
are shaped like
inverted Barchan dunes. Their movement has been slowed by vegetation,
and they typically advance only a few feet a year. |
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Rolling dunes of
sparkling white gypsum sand cover 275 square miles of the
Tularosa Basin. Below the dunes is an almost flat desert, which
was once an ancient lake bed. It is "like no place else on
earth." |
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Dunes
move as strong winds bounce grains of sand up and over the
crest where they pile up. When the leeward slope reaches 34 degrees,
gravity takes over, and causes small landslides, as shown here. |
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The San Andres
Mountains
form
the western edge of the basin in which White Sands lies. In the south
are the Organ Mountains, north are the Oscuas, and east are the
Sacramentos |
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Scattered
across the Tularosa Basin are small patches of the flat
desert floor. Roots here can reach the water table below. In these interdune areas,
most desert life exists at White
Sands. |
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Graceful S-Shaped Barchan
Dunes are fast-moving and high, and overwhelm everything in their
path.
As with Transverse Dunes, nothing grows fast enough to out race Barchan Dunes.
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Sand
here is
white is because, as the wind blows grains along, they bump and
scratch each other. The scratches change the way light reflects,
and makes them look white. |
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Transverse Dunes move
several feet a year, and overrun everything in their course.
Nothing lives on top. They move too rapidly for even the
fast-growing yucca or rosemary mint to keep up.
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Footprints
and Time. When the wind reaches
17 mph, ripples form in the sand. The wind bounces sand grains
in furrow-like lines that run the way the wind is blowing, like
fingers in the sand. |
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As dunes move, they
sometimes leave bare patches of the underlying desert floor. These Interdune
flats are where most living things at White Sands
exist, until they are engulfed by new dunes.
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Play
time at White Sands -- A popular activity is sledding down dunes. Disc
sleds can be rented for the day at the Visitors Center. Some
people bring their own sleds, and kids of all ages use cardboard
boxes. |
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In
this harsh and forbidding environment, the will to live is extraordinary. With
only 8 inches of rain a year, 60 plant species, 44 mammals, 26
reptiles, and 100 insects have found a way to endure.
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Ranger Guided Nature Hikes are popular, Elizabeth's group is
returning at sunset to their gathering point at the Sunset
Stroll turn off. Notice the sand has been plowed from the road
to give space for parking. |
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Soaptree
yuccas have adapted well, and are widely scattered across the marginal dunes. As the
dunes bury them, they extended their stems upward to keep their
leaves above the sand.
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Sunsets
on eastern foot hills and on Sacramento Mountains |
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Pedestals
are formed by tangled roots of sumacs trapping grains
of sand. Seasonal rain water is baked from the gypsum
sand. The result is a cement-like base that anchors it in place. |
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Yucca
in the Day's Afterglow - Sunset
on San Andres Mountains |
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