Lake Lucero

Last updated
Lake Lucero with the San Andres Mountains to the west. National Park Service photo. Lake Lucero NPS photo.jpg
Lake Lucero with the San Andres Mountains to the west. National Park Service photo.
Selenite crystals that formed as the lake water evaporated GypsumCrystalsLakeLucerno.jpg
Selenite crystals that formed as the lake water evaporated

Lake Lucero is a playa located within that section of the Tularosa Basin that is contained within White Sands National Park in the U.S. state of New Mexico. The playa is noted for the unusually high quantity of water-deposited and wind-deposited gypsum dissolved in its intermittent waters. Annual evaporation cycles have caused much of the gypsum to precipitate into crystals of impure, brownish selenite that line the alkaline mudflats of the lakeshore. The further process of gypsum erosion abrades the fragile selenite, and other precipitated gypsum, into the pure-white sands covering most of the national park. [2] [3]

Lake Lucero is located in a section of the National Park, the Zone of Cooperative Use, to which access is typically restricted for reasons of U.S. military security. Periodic guided tours, supervised by the National Park Service, give interested parties an opportunity to pay brief visits to the lake and adjacent arid desert. [4]

The nearest communities offering tourism facilities are Las Cruces and Alamogordo. U.S. route 70 passes approximately five miles southeast of the lake between Las Cruces and Alamogordo, although the playa is not visible from the road. [5]

Selenite crystals White Sands selenite crystal, page 15.png
Selenite crystals

History

Lake Lucero is named after two brothers, José Lucero and Felipe Lucero, who in 1897 acquired a quarter-section of water-bearing land along the south shore of the largely dry lake. The brothers, who also served as sheriffs of Doña Ana County, parlayed their homestead into a 20,000-acre (8,100 ha) ranch; the arid land could support 2,000 cattle. Eventual condemnation of the ranch helped create part of the White Sands Missile Range (1945), now also used as the Zone of Cooperative Use section of White Sands National Park. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gypsum</span> Soft calcium sulfate mineral

Gypsum is a soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is widely mined and is used as a fertilizer and as the main constituent in many forms of plaster, drywall and blackboard or sidewalk chalk. Gypsum also crystallizes as translucent crystals of selenite. It forms as an evaporite mineral and as a hydration product of anhydrite. The Mohs scale of mineral hardness defines gypsum as hardness value 2 based on scratch hardness comparison.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Las Cruces, New Mexico</span> City in New Mexico, United States

Las Cruces is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico and the seat of Doña Ana County. As of the 2020 census the population was 111,385. Las Cruces is the most populous city in both Doña Ana County and southern New Mexico. The Las Cruces metropolitan area had an estimated population of 213,849 in 2017. It is the principal city of a metropolitan statistical area which encompasses all of Doña Ana County and is part of the larger El Paso–Las Cruces combined statistical area with a population of 1,088,420 making it the 56th largest combined statistical area in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Sands, New Mexico</span> Census-designated place in New Mexico, United States

White Sands is a census-designated place (CDP) in Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. It consists of the main residential area on the White Sands Missile Range. As of the 2010 census the population of the CDP was 1,651. It is part of the Las Cruces Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alamogordo, New Mexico</span> City in New Mexico, United States

Alamogordo is the county seat of Otero County, New Mexico, United States. A city in the Tularosa Basin of the Chihuahuan Desert, it is bordered on the east by the Sacramento Mountains and to the west by Holloman Air Force Base. The population was 31,384 as of the 2020 census. Alamogordo is widely known for its connection with the 1945 Trinity test, which was the first ever explosion of an atomic bomb.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evaporite</span> Water-soluble mineral deposit formed by evaporation from an aqueous solution

An evaporite is a water-soluble sedimentary mineral deposit that results from concentration and crystallization by evaporation from an aqueous solution. There are two types of evaporite deposits: marine, which can also be described as ocean deposits, and non-marine, which are found in standing bodies of water such as lakes. Evaporites are considered sedimentary rocks and are formed by chemical sediments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Sands Missile Range</span> Military testing area in New Mexico, US

White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) is a United States Army military testing area and firing range located in the US state of New Mexico. The range was originally established in 1941 as the Alamogordo Bombing and Gunnery Range, where the Trinity test site lay at the northern end of the Range, in Socorro County near the towns of Carrizozo and San Antonio. It then became the White Sands Proving Ground on 9 July 1945.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White Sands National Park</span> United States historic place

White Sands National Park is an American national park located in the state of New Mexico and completely surrounded by the White Sands Missile Range. The park covers 145,762 acres in the Tularosa Basin, including the southern 41% of a 275 sq mi (710 km2) field of white sand dunes composed of gypsum crystals. This gypsum dunefield is the largest of its kind on Earth, with a depth of about 30 feet (9.1 m), dunes as tall as 60 feet (18 m), and about 4.5 billion short tons of gypsum sand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chihuahuan Desert</span> Largest desert in North America

The Chihuahuan Desert is a desert ecoregion designation covering parts of northern Mexico and the southwestern United States. It occupies much of far West Texas, the middle to lower Rio Grande Valley and the lower Pecos Valley in New Mexico, and a portion of southeastern Arizona, as well as the central and northern portions of the Mexican Plateau. It is bordered on the west by the Sonoran Desert, the Colorado Plateau, and the extensive Sierra Madre Occidental range, along with northwestern lowlands of the Sierra Madre Oriental range. Its largest, continual expanse is located in Mexico, covering a large portion of the state of Chihuahua, along with portions of Coahuila, north-eastern Durango, the extreme northern part of Zacatecas, and small western portions of Nuevo León. With an area of about 501,896 km2 (193,783 sq mi), it is the largest hot desert in North America. The desert is fairly young, existing for only 8000 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selenite (mineral)</span> Mineral variety of gypsum

Selenite, satin spar, desert rose, and gypsum flower are crystal habit varieties of the mineral gypsum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Organ Mountains</span> Mountain range in southern New Mexico

The Organ Mountains are a rugged mountain range in southern New Mexico in the Southwestern United States. Organ Mountains–Desert Peaks National Monument was declared a national monument on May 21, 2014. They lie 10 mi (16 km) east of the city of Las Cruces, in Doña Ana County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tularosa Basin</span>

The Tularosa Basin is a graben basin in the Basin and Range Province and within the Chihuahuan Desert, east of the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico and West Texas, in the Southwestern United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lincoln National Forest</span> National forest in New Mexico, United States

Lincoln National Forest is a unit of the U.S. Forest Service located in southern New Mexico. The Lincoln National Forest covers an extensive 1.1 million acres in southeastern New Mexico. Established by Presidential Proclamation in 1902 as the Lincoln Forest Reserve, the 1,103,897 acres (4,467.31 km2) forest begins near the Texas border and contains lands in parts of Chaves, Eddy, Lincoln, and Otero counties. The Lincoln National Forest is home to three major mountain ranges: Sacramento, Guadalupe and Capitan. The three Ranger Districts within the forest contain all or part of a total of four mountain ranges, and include a variety of different environmental areas, from desert to heavily forested mountains and sub-alpine grasslands. Clean air, water, and soil are necessary elements that the National Forests contribute to the environment. Established to balance conservation, resource management, and recreation, the lands of the Lincoln National Forest include important local timber resources, protected wilderness areas, and popular recreation and winter sports areas. The forest headquarters is located in Alamogordo, N.M. with local offices in Carlsbad, Cloudcroft, and Ruidoso.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Lee Memorial State Park</span> State park in New Mexico, United States

Oliver Lee Memorial State Park is a state park of New Mexico, United States, whose two tracts preserve a canyon in the Sacramento Mountains and Oliver Lee's historic 19th-century ranch house. The 640-acre (260 ha) park is located in Otero County at an elevation of 4,363 feet (1,330 m). It is situated at the base of Dog Canyon and provides opportunities for camping, hiking, picnicking, wildlife viewing, a nature trail, and guided tours of the ranch house.

The White Sands International Film Festival (WSIFF) started in Alamogordo, New Mexico, as a week long event in March 2008 to showcases narrative and documentary films. The festival was created to support the work of Hispanic and New Mexican Filmmakers. The festival moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico, in 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geography of New Mexico</span> Overview of the Geography of New Mexico

With a total area of 121,590 square miles (314,900 km2), New Mexico is the fifth-largest state, after Alaska, Texas, California, and Montana. Its eastern border lies along 103°W longitude with the state of Oklahoma, and 2.2 miles west of 103°W longitude with Texas. On the southern border, Texas makes up the eastern two-thirds, while the Mexican states of Chihuahua and Sonora make up the western third, with Chihuahua making up about 90% of that. The western border with Arizona runs along the 109° 03'W longitude. The southwestern corner of the state is known as the Bootheel. The 37°N parallel forms the northern boundary with Colorado. The states of New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and Utah come together at the Four Corners in New Mexico's northwestern corner. Its surface water area is about 292 square miles (760 km2).

The Tularosa Basin Museum of History, formerly the Tularosa Basin Historical Society Museum, is a history museum holding a collection of historical photographs, documents, and relics from Otero County, New Mexico. The museum is located in Alamogordo, New Mexico, and is owned and operated by the Tularosa Basin Historical Society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Augustin Mountains</span> Mountain subrange of the San Andres Mountains

The San Augustin Mountains are a small mountain subrange located at the southern terminus of the San Andres Mountains east of Las Cruces, New Mexico.

White Sands Ranch is a locale of private land in Otero County, New Mexico, near federal lands of the Tularosa Basin acquired during World War II. Located on the border of the White Sands Missile Range on census block 1168 between Las Cruces and Alamogordo, the site is about 40 mi (64 km) northeast of the White Sands Census Designated Place. Part of the White Sands Ranchers of New Mexico vs. United States legal case denied additional Takings Clause remuneration, the ranch includes numerous buildings and a pond on Wsmr S Rt 250.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">U.S. Route 70 in New Mexico</span> Part of the U.S. Highway System

U.S. Route 70 (US 70) is a part of the U.S. Highway System that travels from Globe, Arizona, east to Atlantic, North Carolina. In the U.S. state of New Mexico, US 70 extends from the Arizona state line south of Virden and ends at the Texas state line in Texico.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Las Cruces Veterans Memorial Park</span>

The Veterans Memorial Park located in Las Cruces, New Mexico was constructed by the Las Cruces Home Builders Association under the direction of the City and was dedicated May 5, 1999. In honor and memorial of the men and women who fought and served in the United States armed forces and in particular, those who served from Las Cruces area, the Veterans Memorial Park exhibits monuments to honor their sacrifices made over the course of history. The history recognized begins from as early as the American Revolutionary War to the present day. The Veterans Memorial Park is organized and guided with a trail that directs visitors to the various monuments scattered throughout the park.

References

  1. "Lake Lucero". Lake Lucero - White Sands National Monument. U.S. National Park Service. Retrieved 12 November 2018.
  2. "Lake Lucero: White Sands National Monument". University of Texas at El Paso . Retrieved 2013-01-03.
  3. 1 2 "White Sands Lake Lucero". Dolores and Edward Rozylowicz. Retrieved 2013-01-03.
  4. "Lake Lucero Tours". National Park Service . Retrieved 2013-01-03.
  5. White Sands 1:100,000 scale Topographic 30x60 Minute Quadrangle, USGS, 1982

32°42′22″N106°26′17″W / 32.706°N 106.438°W / 32.706; -106.438