The White Sands National Monument is located in the Tularosa Basin in New Mexico.
It is one of the world's great natural wonders.
275 square miles of desert have been engulfed by dunes of gypsum sand,
that sparkle brilliantly under the bright southwestern sun.
The dunes are changing all the time. They shift, grow, crest and slump-
advancing slowly but relentlessly to cover everything in their path.
Even plants and animals that are used to the harsh conditions
of desert living have a hard time adapting and struggle to survive.
Only a few species of plants grow rapidly enough to survive burial
by moving dunes, but several types of small animals have evolved
a white coloration that camouflages them in the gypsum sand.