Don't miss the mountains in the background.
See the mountains meeting the clouds.
Go prepared with a sled, it's a must. We had borrow from other tourists.
Arman wants go back and camp in the white sands. Camping and star gazing at night is highly recommended. We didn't have time on this trip but we'll definitely be back to stay longer.
Arman wants go back and camp in the white sands. Camping and star gazing at night is highly recommended. We didn't have time on this trip but we'll definitely be back to stay longer.
Driving 3 1/2 from Albuquerque to South West of NM, you will come across the extraordinary White Sands. It is located in Tularosa Basin, between the cities Las Cruces and Alamogordo. The site has to be one of the world's greatest natural wonders. You know that's a fact when the kids stop winning after hours of asking are we there yet! In fact they asked how long can we stay here and can we hike around and sled in the sand! The great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand was an incredible view and impossible to describe its beauty. We kept repeating words like.... this is like being in a dream, this cannot be Earth, Are we on another planet, This is unreal, It's miraculous..... . We hiked a trail and the kids sled on the sand dunes for couple of hours. What a blast!!!!
Here's a brief geological information about the area from various sources. The Tularosa Basin is located in southern New Mexico. It is surrounded by the Sacramento Mountains to the east and by the San Andres Mountains to the west.The white grains are blown out of an old lake bed, Lake Lucero. The bottom of that old lake is full of gypsum. More gypsum comes out of the surrounding mountains when rain or snow washes it down into the Tularosa Basin.
Here's a brief geological information about the area from various sources. The Tularosa Basin is located in southern New Mexico. It is surrounded by the Sacramento Mountains to the east and by the San Andres Mountains to the west.The white grains are blown out of an old lake bed, Lake Lucero. The bottom of that old lake is full of gypsum. More gypsum comes out of the surrounding mountains when rain or snow washes it down into the Tularosa Basin.
HOW DID THE GYPSUM GET HIGH UP THERE IN THE MOUNTAINS?
Those mountains used to be the bottom of a sea. Now that was way back when New Mexico was located close to the equator and the world map looked like this:
SUPERCONTINENT PANGAEA started breaking apart 220 MILLION YEARS AGO source: usgs
70 million years ago the Rocky Mountains were formed and the bottom of that old sea was pushed up. 10 million years ago one of these elevated spots caved in and created the Tularosa Basin.
WHAT'S SO SPECIAL ABOUT WHITE SANDS?
White Sands is the largest surface deposit of gypsum in the world.
White Sands is the largest surface deposit of gypsum in the world.
Why?
Gypsum exists even in large amounts almost everywhere around the globe. But it is soluble and usually gets washed away into a river or sea of some sort. Not so in the Tularosa Basin. The word basin tells you there's no river outlet. Otherwise it would be called a valley.
Gypsum exists even in large amounts almost everywhere around the globe. But it is soluble and usually gets washed away into a river or sea of some sort. Not so in the Tularosa Basin. The word basin tells you there's no river outlet. Otherwise it would be called a valley.
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