White Sands National Monument
Holloman AFB, NM

July 9, 2004
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At the northern end of the Chihuahuan Desert lies a mountain ringed valley called 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.


Gypsum (CaSO4 2H20) often forms a white, powdery crust on the surface of playas. Sometimes gypsum is deposited as knife-like crystals of selenite, which range in size from a fraction of an inch, in small playas such as this, to over three feet (0.9 meters) at Lake Lucero. The crystals eventually break down into smaller pieces- the material of gypsum dunes.



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