ahuan Desert lies a mountain-ring
ed valley, the Tularos
a Basi n. 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 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 camouflag
e 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 natuRASSral 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 sout
hwest 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 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 ani
mals thatRASS is becoming a widely used system where lower atmospheric sounding is important to operations. Users include manufactures in industry who need to monitor byproducts and plume dispersion, airports to determine wind shear, utility companies, research universities, meteorological offices, environmental consultants, private research facilities, military installations and national laboratories such as Los Alamos National Labs, Battelle Pacific Northwest Labs, Aberdeen Proving Ground, and White Sands Missile Range.
have adapted successfully to this constan
| tly c | hanging environment.A | UNIT |
|---|---|---|
| t t | he north | meters |
| er | n end of the | Chihuah |
| SPEED | uan Desert lies a mou | ntai |
| n-r | inged valley, | the Tul |
| arosa | Basin. Rising from the heart of this ba | sin is |
| W | one of the world's | cm/s |
| gr | eat natural wonders-the glistening white san | ds o |
| f | New Mexico. Great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have | cm/s |
| en | gulfed 275 square miles of desert here and created the | lar |
| INVMI | gest gypsum dune field in the | world |
| . T | he dunes, brill | iant and whi te, are ever changi ng. They grow , crest, then slump but always advanc |
| e. S | lowly but relentlessly the sand, driven by strong | s2out |
| hw | est winds, covers everything in its path. Wit | hin t |
| he ex | tremely harsh environ | ment of the dune fie |
| ld, | RASS echo | even pl |
| a | nts and animals | adapted |
| t | o desert conditions struggle to survive. | Only a f |
| ew sp | ecies of plants grow rapidly enough to surv ive burial by the moving du |
nes, bu |
t several
types
of small animals have evolved white
