White Sands National Park

A national park in southern New Mexico that protects the world’s largest gypsum dune field, a shifting landscape in the Tularosa Basin.

Gypsum: A soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate. The dunes are made of gypsum crystals rather than the quartz sand common in most deserts.
White Sands National Monument: The national monument established in 1933 to protect the White Sands gypsum dunes. The monument was the park’s predecessor before its redesignation in 2019.
Sledding: A recreational activity in which a person slides downhill on a sled. Visitors use saucer sleds on selected dunes, where gypsum’s texture differs from ordinary snow or sand.
Trinity test: The first detonation of a nuclear weapon, conducted in New Mexico on July 16, 1945. The test site lies within the broader Tularosa Basin region near the park.
Lake Lucero: A dry lake bed at the southwestern edge of White Sands where gypsum crystals form. Its seasonal waters help produce the crystals that wind carries into the dunes.
White Sands National Park Designation Act: The 2019 law that redesignated White Sands National Monument as a national park. This act changed the protected area’s status and name without substantially changing its boundaries.
Gypsum endemism: The restriction of species to habitats formed by gypsum-rich soils or landscapes. The park’s specialized substrate supports plants and animals adapted to gypsum dunes.
White Sands fossil footprints: Preserved Ice Age trackways in the Tularosa Basin, including human and megafauna footprints. Their discovery revealed evidence of ancient human activity in the region now protected around White Sands.
Aeolian processes: The erosion, transport, and deposition of sediment by wind. Wind moves gypsum grains across the basin and builds the park’s migrating dunes.
Herbert Hoover: The 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. Hoover established White Sands National Monument in 1933.

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