urvive
burial by t
he mov ing dunes, but several t
ypes
of small anim
als 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 the Chihuahuan Desert lies
a mountain-ringed valley, the Tularosa Basin. Rising
from the heart of this basin is one of the world's
great natural wonders-the glistening white sands
of New Mexico. Gre
at wave-like dunes of gypsum
sand have engulfed 275 square 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 adapNATOted 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 camoufla