Key Information
White Sands
| Type | National Park and Field of Gypsum Sand and Sand Dunes |
| Area | 227.753 square miles |
Learning Point
- White Sands National Park in New Mexico is a 275-square-mile alien landscape of rare gypsum dunes—the largest on Earth. Unlike typical scorching sand, these white grains stay cool under the sun, making it a surreal hiking spot. It’s a hotspot where animals like bleached earless lizards are white to blend in. Archaeologists recently found ancient human footprints here, rewriting the timeline of North American history. Part natural wonder and part active missile range, it’s a unique, high-contrast desert where ancient footprints meet modern science.
Project
- Draw a picture of White Sands, including a close up of gypsum sand.
- Overview
- Gypsum Sand
Location
| Location | Otero County and Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States |
Fun Facts
- Unlike regular beach sand that burns your feet, this sand is made of gypsum. It doesn’t absorb heat from the sun, so it feels cool and chilly even on a 100°F day.
- Because the sand is so soft and slippery, people don’t just hike—they sled! You can wax up a plastic snow saucer and zoom down the dunes just like you’re on a snowy hill.
- There are white lizards, white mice, and even white moths that blend in perfectly with the sand.
- ousands of years ago, Giant Ground Sloths (the size of cars!) and Mammoths walked here. You can still see their “ghost tracks”—footprints that appear only when the ground is wet.
- Gypsum is the same stuff used to make chalk and drywall. Imagine a sandbox the size of 145,000 football fields filled with crushed-up white chalk!
Past Lessons
| 189 | March 9, 2026 | (North America) |