Subject: White Sands National Monument

Location: Otero County, New Mexico

Stock Number: 06-24770

Comment: No rivers drain the basin in which the White Sands are located. Gypsum-rich runoffs from the nearby mountains form temporary lakes. Water in the lakes soon evaporates, leaving behind gypsum crystals, and these crystals are eventually broken down into small particles massed by the winds into dunes.

Notice the Cottonwood trees on the left side of the photo; Cottonwoods are among the few woody plants that grow in the dune fields.