The large, glossy, black Chihuahuan raven in our photo is a bit of an interloper, a tourist like us humans in White Sands National Park.
The raven is a common site throughout the desert Southwest, although not specifically evolved and adapted to this park. Those species specifically evolved for this micro-environment have evolved their coloration to blend with the white sand to avoid predation.
That is how you tell the park's "year-round residents" from the interlopers and tourists. Many rare species have evolved over thousands of years to the specific conditions found in the park, blindingly white sand, minimal rainfall, and sparse vegetation.
The park is a truly unique place in the world with a unique set of creatures.
The park's dunes are composed of white gypsum sand.
Sand is defined by its grain size, not material composition. One rarely finds gypsum sand because it dissolves in water. Gypsum is common, found all over the world. It is mined for use in plaster and drywall.
Rain washes gypsum into rivers then into the oceans. However, the White Sands National Park is located in the Tularosa Basin, which is basically a bathtub with no drain. The gypsum washes away from the surrounding mountains and has nowhere to go. The accumulation gradually became 176,000 acres of massive dunes.
The National Park attracts more than half a million people per year to drive through it, walk around, picnic and even sled down the slopes.
Take a walk with Birkenstock.
