Just learned there's a place in New Mexico with over 300 square miles of gypsum sand dunes

I was reading about White Sands National Park and found out the whole area is basically one giant gypsum crystal field. It's not normal quartz sand, it's all gypsum that washed down from the mountains and formed these huge white dunes. Has anyone actually been there and walked on it? What's it feel like compared to a regular beach?

4 comments

4 Comments

matthew37117d ago

Man, a buddy of mine walked on it and said it feels like fine cold sugar, not like beach sand at all. @grant380 would probably agree.

henryt183mo ago

Whoa that's wild! It's like how we think we know what something is, sand in this case, but then you find out there's a whole other version of it. Makes you wonder what other basic stuff around us is totally different up close. I gotta see that white sand for real now.

grant3803mo ago

Yeah, that "totally different up close" thing hits home, @henryt18. I once saw sand under a microscope and it looked like tiny gemstones, nothing like the beach.

beth1473mo ago

Ever try looking at sugar under a magnifying glass? It's kind of like that, just way cooler.