The
White Sands National Monument is a
U.S. National MonumentA National Monument in the United States is a protected area or a historic site that is similar to a National Park except that the President of the United States can quickly declare an area of the United States to be a National Monument without the approval of Congress...
located about 25 km (15 miles) southwest of
AlamogordoAlamogordo is a city in, and the county seat of, Otero County in south-central New Mexico, United States. A desert community lying in the Tularosa Basin, it is bordered on the east by the Sacramento Mountains. It is the nearest city to Holloman Air Force Base...
in western
Otero CountyOtero County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of 2000, the population was 62,298. Its county seat is Alamogordo. The Census Bureau defines the Alamogordo Micropolitan Statistical Area as Otero County.-Geography:According to the U.S...
and northeastern
Dona Ana CountyDoña Ana County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of 2000, the population was 174,682. Its county seat is Las Cruces, also the largest city in the county and second-largest in New Mexico. Smaller towns in the county include Mesilla, Doña Ana, Hatch, and...
in the
stateA U.S. state is any one of 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government . Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile...
of
New MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. Inhabited by Native American populations for many centuries, it has also been part of the Imperial Spanish viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S. territory. Among U.S...
, at an elevation of 4235 feet (1291 m). The area is in the mountain-ringed
Tularosa BasinThe Tularosa Basin is a graben basin in the basin and range area east of the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico, mostly in Otero County. It covers about 6,500 sq. miles . It lies between the Sacramento Mountains to the east and the San Andres and Oscura Mountains to the west...
valley area and comprises the southern part of a 710-km² (275-mi²) field of white sand dunes composed of
gypsumGypsum is a very soft mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO
4·2H
2O.-Crystal varieties:...
crystals.
History
The first exploration was led by a party of US Army officers in 1849.
The Mescalero Apache were already living in the area at the time. Hispanic families started farming communities in the area at Tularosa in 1861 and at La Luz in 1863.
Preparation for a National Park
The idea of creating a national park here goes back at least to 1898, when a group in
El Paso-Geography:* El Paso, Texas, a city in the United States on the border with MexicoColombia:* El Paso, CesarUnited States:* El Paso, Arkansas* El Paso County, Colorado* El Paso, Illinois* El Paso, Missouri, an early name for Exeter, Missouri...
proposed a Mescalero National Park. Their idea was for a game hunting preserve, which conflicted with the idea of preservation held by the Department of the Interior, and their plan was not successful. In 1921-1922 Albert Bacon Fall,
United States Secretary of the InteriorThe United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior.The US Department of the Interior should not be confused with the concept of Ministries of the Interior as used in other countries...
and owner of a large ranch in Three Rivers near White Sands, promoted the idea of a national park there an "All-Year National Park" that, unlike more northerly parks, would be usable all year round. This idea ran into a number of difficulties and did not succeed. Tom Charles, an Alamogordo insurance agent and civic booster, was influenced by Fall's ideas. By emphasizing the economic benefits Charles was able to mobilize enough support to have the park created.
On January 18, 1933, President
Herbert HooverHerbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted government intervention under the rubric "economic...
created the White Sands National Monument, acting under the authority of the
Antiquities ActThe Antiquities Act of 1906, officially An Act for the Preservation of American Antiquities , is an act passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1906 giving the President of the United States authority to restrict the use of particular public land...
of 1906. The dedication and grand opening was on April 29, 1934.
Life as a National Monument
Tom Charles became the first custodian of the monument, and upon his retirement in 1939 became the first concessionaire, operating as White Sands Service Company.
The Headquarters building (also called the Visitor Center Complex) was constructed of adobe bricks as a
Works Progress AdministrationThe Works Progress Administration was the largest "New Deal" agency, employing millions of people and affecting almost every locality in the United States, especially rural and western mountain populations...
project starting in 1936 and completed in 1938.
The Monument is completely surrounded by military installations (
White Sands Missile RangeWhite Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in area, the largest military installation in the United States. WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range. WSMR and the 600,000-acre Fort Bliss ' to the south, form a contiguous swath of territory for military testing...
and
Holloman Air Force BaseHolloman Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located six miles southwest of the central business district of Alamogordo, a city in Otero County, New Mexico, United States. The base was named in honor of Col. George V. Holloman, a pioneer in guided missile research. It is the home of...
) and has always had an uneasy relationship with the military. Errant missiles often fell on WSNM property, in some cases destroying some of the visitor areas. Overflights from Holloman disturbed the tranquility of the area.
In 1969 the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish introduced
oryxOryx is one of three or four large antelope species of the genus Oryx, typically having long, straight, almost-upright or swept-back horns. Two or three of the species are native to Africa, with a fourth native to the Arabian Peninsula...
into the
Tularosa BasinThe Tularosa Basin is a graben basin in the basin and range area east of the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico, mostly in Otero County. It covers about 6,500 sq. miles . It lies between the Sacramento Mountains to the east and the San Andres and Oscura Mountains to the west...
, intending them to be hunted for sport. The oryx had no natural predators; they invaded WSNM and competed with the native species for forage.
World Heritage Site controversy
WSNM was placed on the Tentative List of
World Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list that is maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 state parties which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term.A World Heritage Site is a...
s on January 22, 2008.
The state's two U.S. Senators,
Pete DomeniciPietro Vichi "Pete" Domenici is an American Republican politician, who served six terms as a United States Senator from New Mexico, from 1973 to 2009, the longest tenure in the state's history....
and
Jeff BingamanJesse Francis "Jeff" Bingaman, Jr. , is the senior U.S. Senator from New Mexico. He has been in the Senate since 1983 and is a member of the Democratic Party. Bingaman was Attorney General of New Mexico from 1978 until his election to the U.S. Senate in 1982, when he defeated Republican incumbent...
, wrote letters of support of the application.
U.S. Representative Stevan Pearce declined to support the application, saying, "I would guarantee that if White Sands Monument receives this designation, that there will at some point be international pressures exerted that could stop military operations as we know them today."
The WHS application generated much controversy in
Otero CountyOtero County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of 2000, the population was 62,298. Its county seat is Alamogordo. The Census Bureau defines the Alamogordo Micropolitan Statistical Area as Otero County.-Geography:According to the U.S...
, most of it taking place in meetings of the Otero County Commission. A petition with 1,200 signatures opposing the application was presented to the Commission on August 16, 2007.
The Commission on August 23, 2007 passed a resolution of opposition to the application,
and on October 18, 2007 passed Ordinance 07-05 that purports to make it illegal for WSNM to become a World Heritage Site.
On January 24, 2008, after the Tentative List was announced, the Commission instructed the County Attorney to write a letter to the Secretary of the Interior, demanding that WSNM be taken off the list.
Description
Gypsum is rarely found in the form of sand because it is water-soluble. Normally, rain would dissolve the gypsum and carry it to the sea. Since the Tularosa Basin has no outlet to the sea, rain that dissolves gypsum from the surrounding
San AndresThe San Andres Mountains are a mountain range in the southwestern U.S. state of New Mexico, in the counties of Socorro, Sierra, and Doña Ana. The range extends about 75 miles north to south, but are only about 12 miles wide at their widest...
and
Sacramento MountainsThe Sacramento Mountains are a mountain range in the south-central part of the U.S. state of New Mexico, lying just east of Alamogordo in Otero County...
is trapped within the basin, and the rain either sinks into the ground or forms shallow pools which subsequently dry out and leave gypsum in a crystalline form, called selenite, on the surface.
During the last
ice ageThe general term "ice age" or, more precisely, "glacial age" denotes a geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in an expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Within a long-term ice age, individual...
, a lake known as Lake Otero covered much of the basin. When it dried out, it left a large flat area of selenite crystals which is now the Alkali Flat. Another lake, Lake Lucero, at the southwest corner of the park, is a dry lake bed, at one of the lowest points of the basin, which occasionally fills with water.
The ground in the Alkali Flat and along Lake Lucero's shore is covered with selenite crystals which reach lengths of up to three feet (1 m).
WeatheringWeathering is the decomposition of Earth's rocks, soils and minerals through direct contact with the planet's atmosphere. Weathering occurs in situ, or "with no movement", and thus should not be confused with erosion, which involves the movement of rocks and minerals by agents such as water, ice,...
and
erosionErosion is a gravity driven process that moves solids in the natural environment or their source and deposits them elsewhere...
eventually breaks the crystals into sand-size grains that are carried away by the prevailing winds from the southwest, forming white dunes. The dunes constantly change shape and slowly move downwind, covering the plants in their path. Some species of plants, however, can grow rapidly enough to avoid being buried by the dunes.
From the visitor center at the entrance of the park, the Dunes Drive leads 8 miles (12 km) into the dunes. Four marked trails allow to explore the dunes by foot. During the summer, there are also Ranger-guided orientation and nature walks. The park participates in the
Junior Ranger ProgramThe Junior Ranger Programs are activities prepared especially for 5-12 year old visitors to the properties of the National Park Service. Participation is recorded in prepared booklets or newspaper which can cost up to $3...
, with various age-group-specific activities
http://www.nps.gov/whsa/forkids/beajuniorranger.htm.
Unlike dunes made of quartz-based sand crystals, the gypsum does not readily convert the sun's energy into heat and thus can be walked upon safely with bare feet, even in the hottest summer months. In areas accessible by car, children frequently use the dunes for downhill sledding.
Because the park lies completely within the
White Sands Missile RangeWhite Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in area, the largest military installation in the United States. WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range. WSMR and the 600,000-acre Fort Bliss ' to the south, form a contiguous swath of territory for military testing...
, both the park and
U.S. Route 70U.S. Route 70 is an east-west United States highway that runs for 2,385 miles from eastern North Carolina to east-central Arizona. As can be derived from its number, it is a major east-west highway of the Southern and Southwestern United States...
between
Las Cruces, New MexicoLas Cruces is a city in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 74,267. The population was estimated at 91,865 as of July 1, 2008, making it the second largest city in the state. Las Cruces is the center of an agricultural region...
and
AlamogordoAlamogordo is a city in, and the county seat of, Otero County in south-central New Mexico, United States. A desert community lying in the Tularosa Basin, it is bordered on the east by the Sacramento Mountains. It is the nearest city to Holloman Air Force Base...
are subject to closure for safety reasons when tests are conducted on the missile range. On average, tests occur about twice a week, for a duration of one to two hours. Located on the northernmost boundaries of
White Sands Missile RangeWhite Sands Missile Range is a rocket range of almost in area, the largest military installation in the United States. WSMR includes the and the WSMR Otera Mesa bombing range. WSMR and the 600,000-acre Fort Bliss ' to the south, form a contiguous swath of territory for military testing...
, the Trinity Site can be found, where the first atom bomb was detonated.
External links