New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science
November 13, 2014
The floor of the northern Tularosa Basin, south of the Oscura Mountains and north of White Sands National Monument, consists of two very different geologic worlds. One world has been made of rock fragments eroded from the surrounding mountains; and one world is made of gypsum that precipitated from the evaporation of water and is responsible for the development of the White Sands. North of an ice-age lake that occupied the Tularosa Basin until about 15,000 years ago. North of the former lake, gypsum created an unusual surface of spring mounds, ponds, and marshes that are also home to unique flora and fauna. Explore with Dr. David Love these uncommon worlds in locations that most people never see.