Home > Travel-guide > Ofinterest > White Sands National Monument

White Sands National Monument

Technorati Tags: White Sands,Alamogordo,Las Cruces,Federal Land,southeast,southwest,dona ana county,otero county,sierra county

Over half-a-million visitors a year enjoy the world’s largest gypsum dune field at White Sands National Monument in Southern New Mexico. The sparkling white dunes are ever-changing, ever-moving and ever-growing

Where does the gypsum originate? It is constantly added to the dunes from its source in Lake Lucero. Comparatively few visitors see the ten-square-mile lake bed, even though it is part of the monument, and, with a little planning, is accessible to everyone.

White Sands lies in the mountain-ringed Tularosa Basin . The mountains are striped with layers of limestone which contain gypsum. The gypsum dissolves in rain water and runs down the mountains until it reaches the lowest point in the Basin, which is Lake Lucero. In the rainy season, this spot may deserve the label of lake, and have water to a depth of 12 inches. The Tularosa Basin has no rivers running out of it. This last fact explains why there are dunes of gypsum sand in the Tularosa Basin and none on the other side of the mountains. In the dry season the water evaporates, leaving a crust on the lake bed. Some of the gypsum forms dark amber crystals called selenite. Even though these crystals are very soft and are easily scratched, pioneer homesteaders used them as window glass.

Because the crystals are soft, the wind and rain break them up until they are light enough for the wind to sweep them away. Lake Lucero is located at the southwest corner of the dune field, and the winds from this direction constantly add gypsum sand to the rounded dunes, and keep them moving northeast ahead of the wind.

Access to Lake Lucero is across White Sands Missile Range, so visitors travel in a scheduled caravan led by a Park Service Ranger, and with a military escort. The caravan covers seventeen miles after it leaves U.S. Highway 70-82. Fortunate visitors may see an oryx, one of a herd of these exotics imported from Africa and released in the San Andres Mountains to the west of White Sands. On hot days, maybe with tribal memories of the acacia trees of their homeland, these animals try to huddle their large bodies into the shadows of utility poles.

At the Lake, vehicles are parked, and visitors walk an easy mile to the lake bed. On a typical tour, the guide occasionally stops the hikers to explain the geology, plant life or history of the area. The 50-100 people of all ages in the group are delighted by the selenite crystals tumbled into an arroyo.

Walking on the dry lake bed is a bizarre experience, almost like exploring a planet other than earth. The bed is so flat and stretches so far . . . With very little wind, the sand particles stir around, and footprints are whisked away almost as soon as they’re made. If the atmospheric conditions are right, mirages also add to the bizarreness of the place, and apparently furnish different subject matter for different viewers. Where absolutely no buildings exist, I saw dilapidated grey buildings with a broken pier extending into a shimmering lake.

Once a month, usually on the last weekend, car tours are scheduled so visitors may take a look at Lake Lucero, the birthplace of all that sand.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.