White Sands National Monument
by Svilenka Dankova
Title
White Sands National Monument
Artist
Svilenka Dankova
Medium
Photograph - Photograph
Description
White Sands National Park is located in the state of New Mexico and completely surrounded by the White Sands Missile Range. The park is field of white sand dunes composed of gypsum crystals. This gypsum dunefield is the largest of its kind on Earth.
Approximately 12,000 years ago, the land within the Tularosa Basin featured large lakes, streams, grasslands, and Ice Age mammals. As the climate warmed, rain and snowmelt dissolved gypsum from the surrounding mountains and carried it into the basin. Further warming and drying caused the lakes to evaporate and form selenite crystals. Strong winds then broke up crystals and transported them eastward. A similar process continues to produce gypsum sand today
Uploaded
October 30th, 2022
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