白沙国家公园，美国新墨西哥州 White Sands National Park, New Mexico (© Andrea Harrell/Tandem Stills + Motion)

白沙国家公园，美国新墨西哥州 White Sands National Park, New Mexico (© Andrea Harrell/Tandem Stills + Motion)

世界最大的石膏沙漠 The largest gypsum dune field

白沙国家公园，美国新墨西哥州

今天的照片是否让你感觉到一丝寒冷？其实这不是雪，而是地球上最大的石膏沙漠。这是位于新墨西哥州的白沙国家公园，在过去的1.2万年里，周围的山脉产生了约45亿吨雪白的石膏沙。这里最初于1933年1月18日被指定为白沙国家纪念地，然后在2019年正式成为白沙国家公园。如今，这座国家公园里生活着成千上万的物种，其中许多物种已经逐渐进化出了白色，以便更好融入环境。

White Sands National Park turns 90

If today's photo evokes some chilly feelings inside of you, surprise! That's not snow, but part of the largest gypsum dune field on the planet. We're at White Sands National Park in New Mexico, which was first established as a monument on this date in 1933 and then became a national park in 2019. Roughly 4.5 billion tons of gypsum sand has massed in the Tularosa Basin over the past 12,000 years, having worn off the surrounding mountains. Thousands of species live in the park, many of which have evolved to have white coloration, allowing them to blend into the environment.