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
More Desktop Wallpapers:
-
Kirkjufell, Iceland
-
Mildred B. Cooper Memorial Chapel in Arkansas
-
Goðafoss waterfall, Iceland
-
Ancient theater of Epidaurus, Greece
-
Norway s Kjeragbolten boulder
-
Crested caracaras
-
The tallest animal in the world on the longest day of the year
-
Great Backyard Bird Count
-
The circular castle of Cornwall
-
Under Parisian skies
-
Goliath heron in Kruger National Park, South Africa
-
The meeting point of the winds
-
Going head-to-head with winter
-
Málaga, Spain
-
Great hornbill, Thailand
-
In praise of the pipes
-
St. Patricks Day
-
Brocken spectre in Central Balkan National Park, Bulgaria
-
Mount Rainier National Park
-
Westerheversand Lighthouse
-
Happy Boxing Day!
-
So, how long till springtime?
-
Nursing the world to health
-
International Women s Day
-
Wandering Watkins Glen
-
Astronomy Day
-
Commemorating peace in Antarctica
-
Fight for your lefts
-
Deep in the North Woods wetlands
-
St. Patrick s Day