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White Sands National Monument Description
Area: 230sq.mi/596sq.km

Established: 1933

The White Sands National Monument is half an hour's drive southwest of Alamogordo in the south of New Mexico. It lies in the Tularosa basin, a northern offshoot of the Chihuahua Desert surrounded by hills. Here gleaming white gypsum sand has built up into an extraordinary landscape of dunes up to 60ft/18m high which are constantly being displaced by the wind. Only highly adapted forms of life can stand up to the extreme conditions of this arid and constantly changing habitat. Some plants, for example, have developed roots over 30ft/10m long in order to gain a foothold in the traveling dunes.

Origins

Some 250 million years ago this area was occupied by a
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Hobbies & Activities category: National park;  Scenic site or route
Address
White Sands National Monument
Box 1086
Holloman Airforce Base, NM 88330-1086
United States
Phone 1 (505) 479-6124 / 679-2599
Fax 1 (505) 479-4333
http://www.nps.gov/whsa/
Hours
May 15 to August 15
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Open8:008:008:008:008:008:008:00
Closed19:0019:0019:0019:0019:0019:0019:00
August 16 to May 14
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Open8:008:008:008:008:008:008:00
Closed16:3016:3016:3016:3016:3016:3016:30
Always closed on:
Christmas - Christian (December 25)
Cost
Adult$3.00
Child 16 & underFREE
Tips
One-year passes available for $20.00.
Warning
In walking about in the dunes it is easy to lose your sense of direction, particularly if a sandstorm blows up.
Disabled
Partial facilities for persons with disabilities.
Facilities
Gift shop
Typical Visit
1 hour
Do-It-Yourself Tours
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