Video: White Sands National Monument in USA: Eternal Snow Territory
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
The universe is generous with surprises, especially those we call natural wonders. Such a miracle can be called White sands, the only desert in the world with "eternal snow": white sand like crushed china, chalk or gypsum. It is located in New Mexico (USA), at an altitude of 1291 m above sea level, in the Tularosa Valley, surrounded by the San Andres and Sacramento mountains. Desert White Sands National Monument is a national monument of the United States and occupies a vast area of over 710 sq. km. Hundreds of kilometers of snow-white sand dunes from afar resemble a snowy plain, but the "snow" here does not melt even in summer. White sand is the finest gypsum crystals that usually dissolve in water, but since the Tularosa Valley is cut off from the water, the gypsum, washed out by downpours from the nearby mountains, settles on the surface in the form of sand called selenite. Unlike ordinary sand, selenite does not heat up in the sun, and therefore you can walk barefoot on the snow-white dunes even in hot summer. However, winter is still considered the best season for walking in the amazing park: at this time of the year, the white sands shimmer very beautifully under the soft rays of the winter sun - a truly unforgettable sight!
Once upon a time, hundreds of millions of years ago, this territory was covered with water by an ancient sea. Over time, it dried up and gave way to a lake called Lake Otero. But a few thousand years ago, the lake also dried up, leaving behind a huge desert covered with selenite, crystallized gypsum, which was previously dissolved in water. Due to its uniqueness, this area has been overgrown with legends and tales for many years. In particular, there are rumors that this is where UFOs land, and over the past half century, eyewitnesses have repeatedly noticed strange flying objects over White Sands. It is also believed that the Indians of southwestern and northern Mexico chose the territory of the snow-white desert, and they came here for meditation sessions to consult with the spirits of their ancestors. However, these legends do not frighten at all, but only attract more and more new travelers to New Mexico. For them, motorways and footpaths have been laid here, which lead both through absolutely bare "crossing" dunes, and through an area partially covered with strange vegetation and inhabited by no less strange albino animals.
If earlier remote parts of the national reserve were used to test various weapons, and in 1945, it was here during the tests that the first atomic bomb was detonated, but today tourists have picnics among the dunes and take a lot of pictures. Children ride in the snow-white desert on special sleds, descend from the dunes on imitation snowboards designed for riding on the sand, and from time to time, a balloon festival is held on the territory of the White Sands National Monument.
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