White Sands National Monument

View in White Sands National Monument, New Mexico, located approximately 80 miles north of El Paso Texas, and in the White Sands Missile Range. An ancient lake bed is the source of the great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand that have engulfed 275 square miles of desert and have created the world's largest gypsum dune field. Here, interference ripples developed on the crest of a transverse dune, with the Organ Mountains in the background.

Photo by Dr. Jose Hurtado, University of Texas at El Paso.
Contributed by Aaron Velasco, University of Texas, El Paso