a major part
of this gyp
sum dune field, along with the p
lants
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. Great 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 adapted to
desert conditions struggle to sur
vive. 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