quare miles of desert here and created

the largest gypsum dune field in the world. The dunes, brilliant and white, are ever changing. They grow, crest, then slump but always advance. Slowly but relentlessly the sand, driven by strong southwest winds, covers everything in its path. Within the extremely harsh environment of the dune field, even plants and animals a

dapted to desert conditions struggle to survive. Only a few species of plants grow rapidly enough to survive burial by the moving dunes, but several types of small animals have evolved white colorations to camouflage them in the gypsum sand. White Sands National Monument

preserves a major part of this gypsum dune field, along with the plants and animals that have adapted successfully to this constantly changing environment.At the northern end of