Far Beyond Borders: White Sands National Monument (Like No Place Else on Earth)

White Sands National Monument is located in New Mexico, USA. In the region of Tularosa Basin near Alamogordo City.

White Sands National Monument

Rising from the heart of the Tularosa Basin is one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert, creating the world's largest gypsum dune field. White Sands National Monument preserves a major portion of this unique dune field, along with the plants and animals that live here.

The reason behind the white sand:

During the last ice age, a lake known as Lake Otero covered much of the Tularosa basin (White Sands National Monument is located). When it dried out, it left a large flat area of selenite crystals which is now the Alkali Flat. The ground in the Alkali Flat and along Lake Lucero's shore is covered with selenite crystals which reach lengths of up to three feet (1 m).Weathering and erosion eventually breaks the crystals into sand-size grains that are carried away by the prevailing winds from the southwest, forming white dunes.

Summer Monument Hours

The monument currently opens at 7 a.m. and closes roughly 1 hour after sunset.

Road Safety Corridor

The first four miles of Dunes Drive is a road safety corridor. Slowing or stopping in the corridor is prohibited. Dune Life Nature and Playa trails are also temporarily closed. The staff of White Sands National Monument apologizes for the inconvenience.