White Sands National Monument (Desert Week 2011)
We paid a brief visit to White Sands National Monument five years ago, but with newer imagery now available, this year’s Desert Week seems like a great excuse for a return visit to this absolutely fascinating field of white sand dunes, that also happens to be where the first atom bomb was detonated. Unlike the silica-based sand that is typically the focus of Desert Week, the stunning white dunes here are the result of a rare accumulation of gypsum crystals. While this soft mineral typically dissolves in water, this unique basin valley features an ancient deposit of crystals…