
The wind moves the sand around at White Sands National Park. Many plants can’t grow inside the sand because they will blow away in the wind. The plants that grow in the sand have all found different ways to survive here. A plant pedestal is one such way of surviving. It is a tall structure of hardened sand. Pedestals form when the plant takes up water from the soil. When the soil dries out, the sand will compact around the root system. The wind blows the loose sand away from the root system, exposing the pedestal underneath. Hoary rosemary mint leaves have shiny white hairs all over. The hairs help protect the plant from the sun. Just like when we put on sunscreen, it protects us from getting burnt.
Is there something we missed for this itinerary?
Itineraries across USA

Acadia

Arches National Park

Badlands

Big Bend

Biscayne

Black Canyon Of The Gunnison

Bryce Canyon

Canyonlands

Capitol Reef

Carlsbad Caverns

Channel Islands

Congaree

Crater Lake

Cuyahoga Valley

Death Valley

Dry Tortugas

Everglades

Gateway Arch

Glacier

Grand Canyon

Grand Teton

Great Basin

Great Smoky Mountains

Guadalupe Mountains

Haleakalā

Hawaiʻi Volcanoes

Hot Springs

Indiana Dunes

Isle Royale

Joshua Tree

Kenai Fjords

Kobuk Valley

Lassen Volcanic

Mammoth Cave

Mesa Verde

Mount Rainier

North Cascades

Olympic

Petrified Forest

Pinnacles

Rocky Mountain

Saguaro

Shenandoah

Theodore Roosevelt

Virgin Islands

Voyageurs

White Sands

Wind Cave

Yellowstone

Yosemite

Zion