White Sands

This is another one of those places that's not quite in Texas, but still close enough to El Paso to warrant a visit if you are down that way! Plan on spending all day there, especially in the warmer months. About 90 miles from El Paso, White Sands National Monument lies smack in the middle of White Sands Missile Range--but don't worry, the park and all road access to it are closed during all missile tests  :)

Covering 275 square miles, White Sands is the world's largest gypsum dune field. It's the gypsum--which washes down from surrounding mountains--that gives White Sands it's one-of-a-kind brilliant white appearance. With no river to carry away the gypsum, it remains in the Monument area changed only by strong winds blowing through the area. It's not unusual for dunes to move 15 feet during a year, driven only by the wind.

Such a harsh environment challenges even the sturdiest of desert animals and plants. Few plants grow quickly enough in the dry desert area to survive burial from ever-moving dunes. Several of the animals that call White Sands home have developed a white coloration as a means of defense against predators.





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