White Sands National Park

Lore & Background

As the climate warmed, rain and snowmelt dissolved gypsum from surrounding mountains and carried it into the basin. Further warming caused lakes to evaporate and form selenite crystals, which strong winds broke up and transported eastward, a process that continues today. The park's gypsum dunefield has a depth of about 30 feet, dunes as tall as 60 feet, and about 4.5 billion short tons of gypsum sand. The potentially oldest known human footprints in North America were found at White Sands, with approximately 60 fossilized footprints buried in layers of gypsum soil. The date was later supported by radiocarbon dating of pollen and optically stimulated luminescence dating of quartz grains. Other tracks include extinct megafauna such as ground sloths and Columbian mammoths, contemporaneous to human footprints. Thousands of species inhabit the park, many invertebrates, with at least 45 endemic species (40 of them moths). Human inhabitants have included Paleo-Indians, Archaic people, Jornada Mogollon, Apaches, and later Hispanic and Euro-American settlers. The park features a drive, picnic areas, backcountry campground, marked hiking trails, and sledding on the dunes.

Reader's Guide

White Sands National Park holds global significance as the largest gypsum dunefield on Earth, a unique geological feature formed over millennia through dissolution, evaporation, and wind transport. The park also preserves evidence of extinct megafauna and a continuous human presence from Paleo-Indians through Apache and Hispanic communities. As the most visited NPS site in New Mexico, it provides accessible recreation and education about gypsum dune ecology, endemic species, and the region's deep human history.

Did You Know?

• The park contains the largest gypsum dunefield on Earth, with about 4.5 billion short tons of gypsum sand.
• At least 45 species are endemic to the park, 40 of which are moth species.