At a quick glance, you might mistake these dunes for massive snowdrifts. Although they do make for great sledding, the tiny crystals that form the dunes at White Sands National Park are not snow or ice but gypsum, a soft mineral often used to make plaster and chalk. The dune field became a national monument on this day in 1933 with a proclamation by President Herbert Hoover, which set aside nearly 150,000 acres for preservation. Recently, on December 20, 2019, President Trump signed legislation making it the 62nd designated national park in the National Park System.
Sands of time
Today in History
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					The ruins of Italica, Andalusia, Spain
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					The Sonoran Desert, Arizona
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					The buzz about bees
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					Hawai i Volcanoes National Park at 106
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					Presidents Day
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					Keep watching the skies
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					Staring down winter
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					In orbit for Yuri s Night
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					Skaftafell, Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland
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					Tambopata National Reserve, Peru
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					Groundhog Day
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					World Dolphin Day
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					Yi Peng Festival in Chiang Mai, Thailand
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					Italy s submerged village
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					Pollinator Week
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					Weaverbird nests at Kenya’s Samburu National Reserve
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					National Garden Week begins today
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					Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, Lapland, Finland
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					Keep shining
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					A bridge comes full circle
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					Mardi Gras
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					Tolkien Reading Day
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					The Battle of the Bulge 75 years later
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					Point Reyes National Seashore in California
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					Happy Hobbit Day
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					A stunning sight in Mexico s wilderness
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					Longs Peak, Rocky Mountain National Park
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					Valentines Day
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					Winter Olympics in Beijing
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					Observing World Braille Day in Bavaria
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