"The Snow White Dunes of "White Sands" " a White Sands National Monument Travel Page by annk

White Sands National Monument is located in southern New Mexico and is a desert within a desert. The surrounding desert area is brownish and flat with low brush, and a purplish mountain range in the distance. In the middle of it all is White Sands, a vast expanse of "whiteness" with dunes rising up to 60 ft. above the Tularosa basin floor.

As I drove into the park, the first thing I noticed was how white the dunes were, almost blinding without sunglasses. Most dunes are composed of quartz, but White Sands is pure gypsum, white as white can be. The dunes are one of the largest in the U.S., almost 300 square miles. However, you can only drive in for 8 miles. If you wish to venture further, you must hike. Another difference in the gypsum dunes is that the sand is somewhat hard-packed and easier to walk on. The granules were so tiny and fine they seemed to stick to everything.