50 Fun Facts About White Sands National Park

White Sands National Park is in which U.S. state?

It sits in the Tularosa Basin about 15 miles southwest of the nearest town, and it is the state's most visited NPS site.

The park's white dunes are made of which mineral rather than ordinary quartz sand?

It is calcium sulphate, the stuff of plaster and drywall, left behind by Permian seas and washed down from the mountains.

What distinction do the park's dunes hold worldwide?

It holds some 4.5 billion tons of sand at an average depth of some 30 feet.

How tall are the tallest dunes in the park?

They are biggest and fastest-moving on the western side and shrink to nothing at the eastern edge.

Roughly what share of the whole dunefield lies inside the park, with the rest on the missile range?

The park protects about 115 of the 275 square miles; the other 160 lie to the north on Army land.

What kind of military installation completely surrounds the park?

Holloman Air Force Base sits just to the east, and the park closes for hours at a time during missile tests.

Which president designated White Sands a national monument on January 18, 1933?

A local businessman had lobbied for a park but was told monument status would be easier; he became its first custodian.

In what year was White Sands redesignated a national park?

The change rode inside that year's National Defense Authorization Act, along with land swaps with the missile range.

Fossilised human footprints at White Sands have been dated to roughly how long ago?

That is thousands of years before the accepted arrival of people in the Americas, and later dating of pollen and quartz backed it up.

Which Ice Age lake covered much of the Tularosa Basin, its dried bed leaving the Alkali Flat?

At 1,600 square miles it was bigger than Rhode Island.

Which dry lakebed in the park's southwest corner periodically fills and evaporates to leave new crystals?

Rangers lead a hike there once a month in the cool season; it is inside the permit-only cooperative use area.

The mineral that crystallises out of the evaporating lake takes what form before wind grinds it to sand?

Crystals on the Alkali Flat can reach three feet long before weathering breaks them down.

Roughly how many endemic species live only in this park, most of them moths?

Forty are moths; the rest include the Apache pocket mouse, White Sands woodrat, bleached earless lizard and two camel crickets.

Why have several of the park's lizards, mice and insects evolved pale colouring?

The bleached earless lizard and little white whiptail are among the palest.

Which is the only fish species found in the park?

It grows to only some 2 inches with silver scales and dark eyes.

Which ant found in the park is believed to have the most toxic insect venom in the world?

A dozen stings could kill a 4.4-pound rat, and humans get up to four hours of intense pain.

Which small rodent in the park can leap up to 10 feet high when startled despite a 5-inch body?

Black-tailed jackrabbits in the park can hit 40 mph.

Which bat, the park's most commonly seen, hunts most of its prey by walking on the ground?

It roosts under the visitor centre's eaves in summer.

Which African antelope, released on the missile range for hunting, prompted a 67-mile fence around White Sands?

With no predators they multiplied into the thousands; the NPS built the boundary fence in 1996 to keep them out.

Which Ice Age animals left fossil trackways on the old lakebed alongside human footprints?

One set of human prints appears to show people stalking a sloth; wind exposes the fragile tracks and erases them within a couple of years.

Which Apache leader's warriors fought the 9th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers at the 1880 Battle of Hembrillo Basin?

The Apaches were eventually forced onto the Mescalero reservation, which still keeps ties to the landscape.

Spanish colonists established trails in 1647 across the basin to reach what?

Salt was essential for processing silver ore in the mines of Durango, south of the border.

The 1854 'Magoffin Salt War' ended with what legal precedent?

James Magoffin had fatally wounded three Hispano salt gatherers from Doña Ana while trying to enforce his claim.

Which senator, later disgraced in Teapot Dome, pushed an 'All-Year National Park' for the basin from 1912 to 1922?

NPS director Stephen Mather panned the plan's 'disjointed boundaries, lack of spectacular scenery, and questionable usage'.

Which businessman promoted the dunes in the 1920s and became the monument's first custodian?

He also pushed through the improved state road that became U.S. 70.

Which New Deal agency built the park's original adobe visitor centre and seven other buildings from 1936 to 1938?

Architects Lyle Bennett and Robert Albers designed them; the district joined the National Register in 1988.

Villagers at Tularosa and La Luz in the 1860s mixed dunefield sand with water to make what for their homes?

Heated to 300 F, the dune mineral becomes plaster, which is also why prehistoric hearths in the dunes are cemented in place.

Which family ranched on the shore of the dry lake that now carries their name from 1897?

Their stock pens, well and fallen windmill can still be seen on the monthly ranger tour.

Which 1996 blockbuster about an alien invasion shot scenes in the park?

Transformers, The Book of Eli and David Bowie's The Man Who Fell to Earth also used the dunes.

Which 1968 Clint Eastwood western was among the films shot on the dunes while it was a monument?

Young Guns II and My Name Is Nobody are on the same list.

Which popular activity draws visitors to the dunes year-round?

Plastic saucers sold at the visitor centre are the vehicle of choice.

How far does Dunes Drive run from the visitor centre into the heart of the dunes?

Five marked trails totalling 9 miles branch off it, plus three picnic areas and a ten-site backcountry campground.

Roughly how many visitors does the park get in a typical year?

March and July are the busiest months at more than 60,000 each; the pandemic year of 2021 topped 780,000.

Why does the park sometimes shut Dunes Drive for up to three hours?

U.S. 70 closes at the same time, and notice can be as little as 24 hours.

During which months is possession of alcohol banned in the park, thanks to 1990s spring-break trouble?

Student spring-break drinking in the 1990s brought in the rule.

Which historic test took place at the northern end of the surrounding range on July 16, 1945?

Trinity Site is far north of the park; the range had become the White Sands Proving Ground only seven days earlier.

How many captured German V-2 rockets were test-fired from White Sands between 1946 and 1951?

One in May 1947 veered off and cratered a hillside near Ciudad Juárez, across the border.

Which three dune types are found in the park?

Transverse dunes fill the centre too; the parabolic ones on the vegetated eastern edge barely move.

Which town lies about 15 miles northeast of the park and is its main gateway?

Las Cruces is 52 miles the other way, and the nearest commercial airport is El Paso, Texas, 85 miles off.

Roughly how much rain does the park get in a year?

August is the wettest month; the record high is 111 F and the record low minus 25 F.

Which county's commission fought both World Heritage listing and national park status for White Sands?

Commissioners feared international pressure on military operations and higher film-permit fees.

Which senator introduced the 2018 bill to make White Sands a national park?

He consulted the missile range, the Army and Holloman before filing; the Mescalero Apache Tribal Council backed it.

Which people farmed the Tularosa Basin and lived in permanent houses from about 200 CE to 1350?

They left puddled adobe structures and pottery sherds behind when they moved on.

A hardened base that keeps a plant upright as the dune blows away from around its roots is called what?

Yuccas and skunkbush sumac are the classic pedestal-formers.

Which desert plant did Native Americans use for rope, sandals, baskets and hair soap?

Its chopped, boiled roots made soap for hair, blankets and rugs.

Roughly how many bird species had been recorded in the park by November 2019?

Cactus wrens are known for picking insects off the radiator grilles of parked cars.

Guided moonlight hikes from April to October are timed to what?

Sunset strolls run every evening of the year.

Ice Age Lake Otero covered about 1,600 square miles, an area larger than which US state?

The lake was one of the largest in the Southwest during a much wetter, cooler climate than today's.

How many sites does the park's backcountry campground in the dunefield offer?

Camping, like everything else in the dunes, is suspended whenever a missile test on the surrounding range forces a closure.

The little white whiptail, a lizard endemic to the dunes, uses which escape strategy?

Its scientific name, Aspidoscelis gypsi, nods to the gypsum sand its white colouring matches.