White Sands
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Original JPG File | 4032 × 3024 pixels (12.19 MP) 13.4 in × 10.1 in @ 300 PPI |
3.9 MB | Download |
Low resolution print | 2000 × 1500 pixels (3 MP) 6.7 in × 5 in @ 300 PPI |
1.3 MB | Download |
Screen | 1067 × 800 pixels (0.85 MP) 3.6 in × 2.7 in @ 300 PPI |
157 KB | Download |
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Resource ID
7836
Access
Open
Contributed by
Admin
Historic date (YYYY-MM-DD)
2020-12-31
Title
White Sands
Credit
Nels Iverson, New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, 801 Leroy Place, Socorro, NM 87801
Copyright code
Educational use only. Contact NMBGMR.
Comments
White Sands lies in the Tularosa Basin. The gypsum that forms the white sands was deposited at the bottom of a shallow sea that covered the region 250 million years ago during the Permian era. Over time the gypsum-bearing marine deposits like the Yeso and San Andres formations were turned into stone. 70 million years ago mountain building took place that uplifted the Rockies and elevated the western states. This upheaval called the Laramide Orogeny caused the present Tularosa area to be uplifted into a broad arch. Around 10 million years ago the crust began to stretch apart and the Tularosa arch began to subside to form the Tularosa Basin, and the Sacramento Mountains to the east and San Andres mountains to the west were uplifted along north-south trending faults.
For more information, see our geologic tour of White Sands National Park
Main
Geology, Scenery
Subject
Scenic
Other
May Calendar 2022, White Sands, dunes
Creator
Nels Iverson