White Sands, New Mexico
A basin of gypsum dunes.
Terra Explorer Natural wonders
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The Standard resolution model is free as STL, 3MF, Colored 3MF, OBJ and a 16-bit heightmap. High resolution samples the place about ten times more finely.
- Region
- New Mexico, USA
- Position
- 32.7872, -106.3257
- Area
- 10 × 10 km
- Real elevation
- 1,187 to 1,241 m (54 m of relief)
- Printed size
- 150 mm (5.9 in) wide, about 1:66,700
- Heights
- 3× exaggeration
- Elevation data
- USGS 3D Elevation Program, 1–10 m per point
- Suggested color
- Desert
- Group
- Natural wonders
About White Sands, New Mexico
White Sands National Park is a national park of the United States located in New Mexico and completely surrounded by White Sands Missile Range. The park covers 145,762 acres (227.8 sq mi; 589.9 km2) in the Tularosa Basin, including the southern 41% of a 275 mi2 (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 (4.1 billion metric tons) of gypsum sand. Approximately 12,000 years ago, the land within the Tularosa Basin featured large lakes, streams, grasslands, and Ice Age mammals. As the climate warmed, rain and snowmelt dissolved gypsum from the surrounding mountains and carried it into the basin. Further warming and drying caused the lakes to evaporate and form selenite crystals.
From Wikipedia: White Sands National Park, text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. The article’s history lists its authors.
Questions about White Sands, New Mexico
Where is White Sands?
White Sands is in New Mexico, USA at 32.7872, -106.3257. The model covers a 10 by 10 kilometer square around that point.
How high is the terrain in the White Sands model?
The land in this model runs from 1,187 to 1,241 m (54 m of relief). These are the measured heights, printed 3 times taller so the shape is easy to see.
Can I 3D print White Sands?
Yes. Download the free Standard resolution STL and print it on any FDM or resin printer. It is 150 mm wide and about 7.4 mm tall, on a solid 5 mm base, at a scale of about 1:66,700. It also works for CNC carving. Use Customize to change the width, base thickness or height exaggeration, make it round or add a name plate.
How accurate is the White Sands model?
It is built from real elevation measurements, not an artist's guess: the USGS 3D Elevation Program, mostly airborne laser scans at 1 to 10 meters per point. The shaded picture on this page is made from the same data.
Is the White Sands model free?
The Standard resolution model is free as STL, 3MF, Colored 3MF, OBJ and a 16-bit heightmap. High resolution samples the place about ten times more finely and is a paid upgrade.
What is a White Sands terrain model good for?
People use it as a desk piece, a gift for a traveler or a way to show students how the land is shaped.
About this terrain model
Embossify Terra builds White Sands, New Mexico from real measured elevation, not an artist's guess. In the United States the heights come from the USGS 3D Elevation Program, mostly airborne laser scans that resolve every 1 to 10 meters.
The model covers a 10 by 10 kilometer square centered on 32.7872, -106.3257. It prints 150 mm (5.9 in) wide on a solid base, a scale of about 1:66,700. The heights are exaggerated 3× so the shape is easy to see and feel; you can change that when you customize the model. The sea is flattened to zero, so land stands on a clean base.
New to terrain printing? Read how Terra works. The shaded picture on this page is made by Embossify from the same elevation data.
