Monahans Sandhills State Park (Monahans, Texas)
Posted by: 
Raven
N 31° 38.410 W 102° 49.121
13R E 706860 N 3502618
Monahans Sandhills State Park is located in the Permian Basin region of Texas; it claim to fame are large active sand dunes that grow and change shape in response to seasonal, prevailing winds.
Waymark Code: WMTBT2
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 10/29/2016
Views: 1
"Monahans Sandhills State Park consists of 3,840 acres of sand dunes, some up to 70 feet high, in Ward and Winkler counties, about a half-hour's drive west of Odessa.
The park is only a small portion of a dune field that extends about 200 miles from south of Monahans westward and north into New Mexico. Most of these dunes are stabilized by vegetation, but the park is one area where many dunes are still active. Active dunes grow and change shape in response to seasonal, prevailing winds.
Fresh water occurs at shallow depths within the dune field and sometimes stands in shallow ponds in low areas between dunes, supporting wildlife such as mule deer, gray fox, coyote, bobcat, opossum, wild hog, porcupine, skunk, ground squirrel, jackrabbit and cottontail.
Shin oak (Quercus havardii), one of the plants that stabilize the dunes, is not a stunted or dwarfed form of a larger tree, but a plant that when fully mature usually stands less than 4 feet tall and bears an abundance of large acorns.
More than 400 years ago, Spanish explorers were the first Europeans to report the vast hills of sand. Native Americans were present in this area as far back as 12,000 years ago. Various Indian tribes used the area for temporary campgrounds and a meeting place, finding game, abundant fresh water beneath the sands, acorns, and mesquite beans for grinding into paste with their stone tools.
The area remained a favorable environment for Indians until the 1880s, when the Texas and Pacific Railroad selected Monahans as a water stop between the Pecos River and the town of Big Spring. In the late 1920s, oil production began in the area, now commonly known as the Permian Basin.
The state leased a majority of the State Park land from a private foundation (Sealy-Smith Foundation) in 1956 until 2056, and the park was opened in 1957. The Williams family of Monahans also leased approximately 900 acres to the state for the park."
Source:
Texas Parks & Wildlife website