White Sands became a national monument on January 18, 1933 by order of President Herbert Hoover. Efforts to preserve the area's brilliant gypsum dunes had begun in the late 1800's, but it was the enthusiasm of local booster Tom Charles that finally led to the park's creation. In his words "gypsum may be divided into two classes - Commercial and Inspirational. The former everybody has, but as for recreational gypsum, we have it all. No place else in the world do you find these alabaster dunes with the beauty and splendor of the Great White Sands".
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEgr_3C4yQNAk_6CANyohSG9y1tBFH9x6UHsc12aU44v2_dWGYswk7ff7QC_a2605Ih3lCjBLPqurl2rjk7c0bkawBWk2lRB6hbK5eYOqELmC819DphFmFW4EVK2KvdEldP5X_tlPaito/s280/white_sands_national_monument_01.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1jTqAjD2UiEjmVO9TMyMGNFWJwMSF0PZBrBp46eydge3vPZGRf4xQNaSsX6bP7CskoIST9FhBzIZNgiKWBElPQT45wH9GoBbauT-ZgAU9ylL1i-wOeKaILaVHHDSYcq1ZPk8DQpkGbiA/s280/white_sands_national_monument_02.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7zn67YAEBZNZoO9M_cWNiZryCzUCwgGyItAQiEHQ7IUJLnFWUUEqa_4E2-b9SMvFH_oqzhjvLWWw1XXPrY2_jhhw3MkfULU2cVwb1h6c8XNol-nqSuk6nB2ZnMwbGVmUdjENXwHNNCYw/s280/white_sands_national_monument_03.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOmRMFBe_IgPejH3KX4TI2I4-mMGLOXWt66BODdXebNn0ddl1ZKl7VVtw55JIkkPa6BxXoq1R68RBjlpmU0IhwrOFrDpr1XIb-iNKeyN6HrLRNPkgW0jjZGFLuUmwUw0Q6j1s7eid74jo/s280/white_sands_national_monument_04.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3wxjcV-qIdkZ-_WW1efmB1Z2SlyTztT0KJuundYceqcGN68ErCFTsYB3P9L20ySXrr7U3OnnhlwdBCeK5cEdJnKX1B91J_tIgnSFd_tYin8glDSdDxYPrU7_3LH0kuQBf_-UX2r4oBjo/s280/white_sands_national_monument_05.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigd_dwGy1iRjDFeeNlJq7CZ2Y2J2M0PeVw2E3f8ESQ1zKU2H1NO1_E4KaIgm0qJ8VGVVHFs6Zg2HZP5Ot42q4epWljLtevwtXmGur0uo-E_ToYO67TKQKd3QpY4g-pxw_OfK6puNP_bZk/s280/white_sands_national_monument_06.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiy-aFL1nD190RwFxj38Sx7z0dAUAkvkzmIRnNOwQB7VvnC6SgjsH8K4BatSg8dbDlsJGfl6UNUmbS7WKegm18E_Ffb18r1t3h5RnibRnOWYoVAehi7h-byz8h1x4OsTqNZSBKprjUhilA/s400/white_sands_national_monument_07.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5bPQ6eOszgb8kcJa2QRgZcNPFATid_CqZ_qd9YkIlZuQuT24Lq7FmbugHLoMdCifCHzcjxNqijhk185kaZctVKOARP7MuRApWJt4FoEyoRzb42UxNbqr567DlIQ1-Re_tOAqTVuNZN8g/s280/white_sands_national_monument_08.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGKa4Xg5Tt4qYkl-bX78ch8THCc5MYmBoJR1kH6AGeLys2Y2ggNmDpi1H0_sim2feXsfOkVE2ktm3gky4DCU4y-rKz5LYipUVsP2sLWsb-bwtmIa9PYVg_kR_d1IbIEVCoRf4takNxUkU/s280/white_sands_national_monument_09.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdfHMWc33XlJfabbmBoM7rj8HG9LRIORJJ8iTCDnKmmX0kSwK8FWDTV1_JdnOpVESCShOsWVblsvOkD1tCuTvF0Fa2G3Oni2XVfB7coVvzhntB0zZ7wBrTuPMq-C32t-ur40EzJM_6kzo/s280/white_sands_national_monument_10.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxJJDjarzivzjDqMFzB8tXQOI6KHTGopWKEpfLP5lpIoLECA2xs1z7-qWfmkiOGsxVldMD72A088iNp90JQ_OpKPefy7lLaOsLvWkpKmAuufgLjsdRVw8Oad7W7AsY2-zmXubUBh_nI0o/s280/white_sands_national_monument_11.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCpdjk4Bs4PPilfX5TIbBpvwzWZxHDyadzwflB7EUlKuPeuxasPHQ-wKSQWutbBUtPFA3uxfb-acp5YHvUyzpnupWmKYtRFUUUhcd7iYBAEGLNvmltHuXOuVtDcVqDJlm_J0GWqtfktQc/s280/white_sands_national_monument_12.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfLaIYwLfT5_dvVL0SQjw-3j8V43QGIW3zf0-sSsWM2SLPxDhJTa3LUaeuLkYFbEffKADSiT-W-iZhUX78ryc3NZXmgCY9E7llLJy6bRFEiH8nc9tQkN_6HvsYvFD2DWlEF0_JXd2PeqI/s280/white_sands_national_monument_13.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEJ9kBvlLYaiaPpJMsZwxqvHnqDm48z_FRGU-ZahBWTtqTjXdSPGR6SnSn3bRHR62xmbG0qaeZGtx7lt_2S8LeRaI9AvgHmeOKDhDMqArZtyhu5RCCzpRiffhI9W-wwaZMYAlrlAWRB2c/s280/white_sands_national_monument_14.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO5ZWbjEG67jvh1eqque1LVDub72O8ziC4YJmmIzsXQKTMlZi-_ePk7gwG1IyHgN5Qc_qZwgqQAdZ9QHig22MymrdmkHO8HQKzd_ZAk4zqyzV5-NBxEpGLBE9odYlCf9bdbsssP4lMLZQ/s280/white_sands_national_monument_15.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjklTGaOXJ4dfKgF5GjV_yTnGApRR5uVLLQPihOytLHmNYbXmRwtYrf7gtOl65i2MTLJkN3WJJCJ_LQC3T5rtZ7yl85_Py_0mbweKsJAH01KhpyvDgJT25mKFDTEbC2FVftohlqqEfuLg/s280/white_sands_national_monument_16.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVJ2SaWm2Z2iT4ChJIFkDfFvAhhdQugIR12jJ7PkJdXbd7bwCX8_EcWGwkZy-1ouqYWCJ7tyb6jxup05fde2vDnUcsj_YnGaFwh5Kx1Nc2VcMu4mCz1x1H1ILkdQYpUy7KV-BY9liZHo4/s280/white_sands_national_monument_17.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi19SyJGMF0eh5tg-m2fT3yjFkeW8Y77cgcMg9izRYRoqPNUCaR2DYwbdptV2y4WoB3ILSm4DX848HxpuKT1QeYAZLaxOQQ34BMzL9J87iq5xpdsGbGfdacjdB0sPtK_tg0f35zSsWsrWA/s280/white_sands_national_monument_18.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh48eeyff1RcoLDTsoMAC2Mlel749_YKLZUbL1q-XevSfAXqzN3rhYOkcUXt7Rnh90M5a8vDG5NK15E8R9BSxMjZ_Pv5QsuW2BboVc4m8CPxTFV5Z2JLI6vR-A7Bukd-LEuKNsCrVoaee0/s280/white_sands_national_monument_19.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl9FPG2bvJYDtz9zQzxYBxaWPVVWWOJgeTcABCXnOC07p5osyF8M49xTjQa7D_L-tZgQ2rH3vgqwjtHDvEiSZNVFgpo03Ph35qHVG-dPJPx8IUWFLFFpwxZH-8wxuvtFUyUVeI_ZVXk1g/s280/white_sands_national_monument_20.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-jiENAS2uheQYHHtE_3VzPDiBoJbfErmRoFpr2pMprXIqwgI1Dp1ATSiH3tZ9pzSajq7tCcNO5EOPJ9T7lWNLoGaDMgAAcQHnVgTd5NPW-d3m0jM9S8MLT6AKEP_Yozrj182E68fILu4/s280/white_sands_national_monument_21.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjph2xofwrUYM2VQHrh9Dzf-L0E_b5sx_KRdKYiD7MpuV5-qGc8VHNKVbNSWSb7nYmf2hkLiWYGiKkVTOxMRYQf0-jDErIXlBrGLvcI7G3CRxSxBM0-EO03MUOlgzzYPNJJcCTgx9VyVXY/s280/white_sands_national_monument_22.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimQu92EWkzkufiKFMg_yPXHulZcFr9kBFZrcGOtc_x84K3NreiLCASlKRgDqj3q-k14zwFoYa2ccX56YtXr5IYwS2RjvXi5vnaxEW3r8w9oxxGw2Qet7_02mySXfy2A4ndZ2EcsqLbths/s280/white_sands_national_monument_23.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGEBDjvr4FLMJJggMQVGl1-EPPtBx3UBEPmvNRSl1LXNqUhjpg2VXSLGPnxomAD7L7hT4SfjjHo204_G0MjrGFndotjfDqBX5GaPuyCffWfqpHXRWpAr-6LOc7dZPrAcnLR2UYci2ZWxc/s280/white_sands_national_monument_24.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgt9dXlhv5cXy8eaQZTP_I7QbEefujo8FomKpwgRIY-Dp3IGOw9bKOXC4KR0ce1V75-RiPpLNFNeTA3Kk6iVmSZNt-VTlwTNsW9USBi7e_qxwijBFhW8kDkKePkkIaj9L2F7cPC5Yk9ak/s280/white_sands_national_monument_25.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCI-LWpfKEnVbrgKIxyXc8z6xQXpmGEOwSbnBSFEq52J4oZVKtL-GvD4LRL_shlhzAUucBJbY-IsGIs928uzeB9r4prjuYhZ7iHqgPHTforp784GdIftWY3YkNoW6Taqnvt-N6sj4NOGc/s280/white_sands_national_monument_26.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggUAEm1GPI8Ua5F2Ub1d1QYM7yyTmN71J20wge8P912qQ586IlSOCVMDcoqAAVSKtGr-unF4v_i3MYtLppRIeIpiwEVYG5EIjCO0nkQBFsCh3tK1DNWdu7I2fAbU3Us9YrJWtT286p1F0/s280/white_sands_national_monument_27.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2if6ds6v7yQ_Yw9brDTLjs_hvYZiD__3zPesJj8qSTuxNhduJHYTBdiHBQNsRs4_8_JpQvUrOMsVEDFoObugbr7GxUCHkvnrx5QSdpVbZhJ_HQ-snNrWEWKIfhFzOWg_7A_RZRBypo_4/s280/white_sands_national_monument_28.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmZmXpY7vFcpYZbRQlEkUxHJXGOXI2OOXXT4eaTCTpBmC5gNZz9JJqRZn5nY76ZL5OP3BUZ8KMxFS0pHBXpodYYHSf9BVfShHl5uLtQTCART1UE3UrFgJzHAbtT1cmp_OjzHsw7gVnOA/s280/white_sands_national_monument_29.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgh8-IS0empfSTdLr7jqTnCB-mkG7_uADcScuTU3OdJUqYppd5C3ttSicBwCpBSrBVFEHXp7RINrHkqwjaLLh6cLUVoLBCcIbgO0HMsoY3Cupr05fXWvK69TG6CV4ziAciv8tT_YYu1J2M/s280/white_sands_national_monument_30.jpg)