• The dunes in soft light

    White Sands

    National Monument New Mexico

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    Upcoming Missile Tests: From time to time the missile range that surrounds us performs missile testing that may require the closure of the park or Highway 70. Please follow the link below for up to date information on closures More »

Virtual Tour

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Cottonwood in fall color
An NPS Photo
 
Rio Grande cottonwood trees grow throughout the dune field. Their roots tap into the shallow water table which lies just three feet below the surface. In the fall (late October-early November) their leaves turn golden, adding splashes of color throughout the white sands.

Did You Know?

Photo of yucca growing on a dune

Some species of plants can survive burial by a moving dune by a process called "stem elongation." As the sand rises, the plants quickly grow upward to keep their leaves above the rising sand.