白沙国家公园，新墨西哥州，美国 White Sands National Park, New Mexico, USA (© Francesco Carucci/Getty Images)

伪装成沙漠的奇境 A desert in disguise

白沙国家公园，新墨西哥州

如果把《冰雪奇缘》里的冰换成白沙，画面大概就会像新墨西哥州的白沙国家公园——一望无际的洁白沙丘，乍看之下仿佛仍带着冰雪的凉意。193 年的今天，这里被设立为国家纪念地，用来保护一种罕见的地质奇观：世界最大的石膏沙丘群。这些沙丘由石膏晶体在数千年的风化中逐渐破碎堆积而成，形成了明亮起伏的沙浪，即使在盛夏也依然触手冰凉。

白沙国家公园耸立于图拉罗萨盆地中央，占地275平方英里。在这片耀眼的白色沙海之下，沉睡着远比公园本身更古老的历史。古生物学家在此发现了人类、猛犸象与巨型地懒并行的化石足迹，成为重现冰河时代迁徙轨迹的最鲜明证据之一。

尽管环境荒凉，这片沙丘依旧维持着自己的生存节奏。皂树丝兰抽出高高的花茎，灌木把根深深扎进土壤。阿帕奇袋鼠鼠、漂白无耳蜥蜴、踏沙骆驼蟋等动物，也都隐身在这片苍白的地貌之中。当电影人需要一种“超脱地球”的场景时，这片土地总会成为不二之选。《天外来客》《艾利之书》《变形金刚》都曾在这里借用过宛如“月光洒落地表”的独特光感。

White Sands National Park, New Mexico

If 'Frozen' traded ice for sand, the result would look a lot like White Sands National Park in New Mexico—cool, white dunes that deceive the eye at first glance. It became a national monument on this day in 1933, established to protect a rare geological phenomenon: the world's largest gypsum dunefield. These dunes were formed from gypsum crystals that broke down over thousands of years, creating bright waves that stay cool even in summer.

Rising from the heart of the Tularosa Basin, the park spans 275 square miles. Beneath that brightness lies a story far older than the park itself. Paleontologists uncovered fossilized human footprints alongside mammoths and giant ground sloths, providing one of the strongest records of Ice Age movement on the continent.

For all its starkness, the dunes still support a steady rhythm of survival. The soaptree yucca sends up tall stalks, while shrubs anchor themselves deep underground. Animals, including the Apache pocket mouse, bleached earless lizard, and sand-treader camel cricket, blend into the pale terrain. When filmmakers need a landscape that looks otherworldly, this place is dressed for the part. 'The Man Who Fell to Earth,' 'The Book of Eli,' and 'Transformers' all borrowed its 'Moon-on-Earth' glow.

日出时的沙丘鹤, ‌阿帕奇森林国家野生动物保护区, 新墨西哥州, 美国 Sandhill cranes at sunrise, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico, USA (© Jack Dykinga/Minden Pictures)

曙光中的鹤影 Dawn of the cranes

沙丘鹤, ‌阿帕奇森林国家野生动物保护区, 新墨西哥州

每年十二月，晨光初露，响亮的鹤鸣声在阿帕奇森林国家野生动物保护区的沼泽间回荡。这片占地5.7万英亩的新墨西哥中部圣地，即将上演一场震撼心灵的自然盛景——沙丘鹤结束季节性迁徙，重返故地。不久，成千上万只雪雁和其他候鸟也将加入，振翅高飞，天空被生命的律动与鸣声填满。

沙丘鹤延续千年的迁徙，是一场跨越大陆的史诗，每年冬季，它们从北方平原飞向南方栖息地，这场壮观景象背后，是关于生命韧性的传奇。沙丘鹤是现存最古老的鸟类之一，其血脉可追溯至250万年前，历经冰川时代与无数气候变迁，仍顽强延续。它们曾一度濒临灭绝，却在数十年的努力保护下重获生机。如今，成千上万只沙丘鹤在新墨西哥的湿地找到庇护，这也昭示着一个真理：生命，只要被守护，终会找到回家的路。

Sandhill cranes, Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, New Mexico

Every December, as morning unfolds, a chorus of rattling calls fills the marshes of the Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge. This 57,000-acre sanctuary in central New Mexico prepares to stage one of nature's most stirring performances as sandhill cranes return from their seasonal journey. Soon, tens of thousands of snow geese and other migratory birds join the scene, filling the sky with movement and sound.

We're in the midst of a migration that has carried sandhill cranes across continents for millennia. Each winter, they travel south from their breeding grounds in the northern plains. Beyond the spectacle lies a story of resilience. The sandhill crane is among the oldest living bird species. It descends from a lineage that stretches back over 2.5 million years, enduring ice ages and countless climate shifts. Once nearly extinct, they have rebounded thanks to decades of conservation. Today, thousands find refuge in this New Mexico wetland—a reminder that when life is nurtured and given space, it always finds its way home.

白沙国家公园的日落，新墨西哥州，美国 Sunset at White Sands National Park, New Mexico, USA (© Image Professionals GmbH/Alamy Stock Photo)

1,001座白色沙丘 1,001 Mexican dunes

白沙国家公园的沙丘，新墨西哥州

今日图片展示了新墨西哥州白沙国家公园最令人叹为观止的自然奇观，一片闪耀梦幻光芒的白色沙丘，这里有地球上规模最大的石膏沙丘。这片广袤的沙漠占地超过145,000英亩，沙丘高度可达60英尺，展现出其他地方难以见到的独特景观。这座公园不仅是自然奇观，更是历史瑰宝，这里发现了距今约23,000年的化石化人类脚印，被认为是北美最古老的人类遗迹之一。

今天是白沙国家公园于1933年由总统赫伯特·胡佛设立为保护区的周年纪念日。还有什么比沉浸在白沙美景中更适合庆祝的方式呢？在这里可以徒步旅行、沙丘滑沙，或者沿风景优美的公路驾车欣赏美景。无论是其丰富的历史，还是叹为观止的日落，白沙国家公园都是一个令人心驰神往的旅行目的地。

Dunes at White Sands National Park, New Mexico

Today's image features the dazzling beauty of White Sands National Park, New Mexico—a surreal expanse of glistening white gypsum dunes, the largest of its kind on Earth. Spanning more than 145,000 acres, these ever-shifting dunes rise up to 60 feet tall, creating a landscape not seen in many places. This park isn't only a natural wonder but a historical treasure, with fossilized human footprints dating back as far as 23,000 years, some of the oldest in North America.

Today marks the anniversary of White Sands being established as a protected site in 1933 by President Herbert Hoover. What better way to celebrate than by immersing yourself in its beauty? Enjoy activities like hiking, sledding down the dunes, or taking a scenic drive. Whether for its rich history or jaw-dropping sunsets, White Sands National Park is a wish-list destination that will leave you in awe.

通往大房间的走道，卡尔斯巴德洞穴国家公园，新墨西哥州, 美国 Walkway leading into the Big Room, Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico, USA (© Doug Meek/Getty Images)

“深渊”探险 Rocking in the deep

卡尔斯巴德洞窟国家公园

深邃的岩石峡谷，高耸的古代海礁，新墨西哥州的卡尔斯巴德洞窟国家公园拥有世界上最独特的岩层。在其沙漠美景下隐藏着119余个洞穴，这些洞穴是由硫酸溶解周围的石灰岩时形成的。1930年的今天，卡尔斯巴德洞窟国家公园正式成立，它拥有北美最大的地下洞室——“大房间”，洞室里每一个角落和缝隙都是经过数百万年时光雕琢而成的杰作，例如像枝形吊灯一样悬挂着的巨大钟乳石，以及直插“天花板”的钟乳石笋，因此它被联合国教科文组织指定为世界遗产保护地，除了拥有奇特的自然美景外，卡尔斯巴德洞窟国家公园还会组织“蝙蝠飞行观赏”等活动，游客们可以看到成千上万只蝙蝠在洞穴里飞进飞出，场面刺激又壮观。如果您向往地下探险，卡尔斯巴德洞窟国家公园一定会带给您一段独特的体验。

Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico

With deep rocky canyons and high ancient sea ledges, Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico boasts some of the most unique rock formations in the world. Hidden beneath its desert scenery are more than 119 caves—formed when sulfuric acid dissolved the surrounding limestone. This national park, founded on this day in 1930, is also home to North America's largest underground chamber—the Big Room. From colossal stalactite formations hanging like chandeliers to stalagmite structures reaching for the ceiling, every nook and cranny is a masterpiece crafted over millions of years. This UNESCO World Heritage Site also organizes events like bat flight viewings, which allow visitors to watch thousands of bats as they swoop in and out of the cavern. Are you ready to explore the depths?

比斯第恶土，新墨西哥州，美国 Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness Area, New Mexico, USA (© Ian Shive/Tandem Stills + Motion)

因时间而改变 Transformed by time

新墨西哥州比斯第恶土

时间是伟大的变革者，它改变着世界，也改变着我们所有人。例如，新墨西哥州的这片名为比斯第恶土的荒地，曾经是一片郁郁葱葱的热带森林。近7000万年前，这里没有扭曲的地形和高耸的尖塔，而是一群白垩纪晚期恐龙的家园，包括甲龙、鸭嘴龙和强大的霸王龙。如今，这里到处都是另一种奇观，岩层看起来更像是雕塑，而不是自然现象。比斯第恶土的名字“Bisti/De-Na-Zin”是以纳瓦霍语命名的：“Bisti” 的意思是 "在土坯岩层中"，“De-Na-Zin” 则来自附近的 "站立的仙起重机"石刻。来到四角地区的游客一定不要错过这片由页岩和砂岩组成的超凡脱俗的景观。

Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, New Mexico

Time is the great transformer, changing the world and all of us. For instance, this New Mexico badland—the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness—was once a lush, tropical forest. Nearly 70 million years ago, instead of twisted terrains and towering spires, this place was home to an array of Late Cretaceous dinosaurs, including armored Ankylosaurs, duck-billed Hadrosaurs, and mighty Tyrannosaurs. Today, the area is filled with wonders of a different kind, rock formations that look more like sculptures than natural phenomena. Bisti/De-Na-Zin is named after Navajo words: Bisti means 'among the adobe formations,' and De-Na-Zin means 'standing crane,' a reference to nearby rock carvings of the bird. Visitors to the Four Corners region shouldn't miss out on this otherworldly landscape of shale and sandstone.

格兰德河上空的热气球，阿尔伯克基，新墨西哥州，美国 Hot air balloons over the Rio Grande, Albuquerque, New Mexico (© Jennifer MacCornack/Shutterstock)

乘着热气球向上飞 Coming in hot

热气球升空日

今天是热气球升空日，一个致力于纪念布兰沙尔的成就的日子。布兰沙尔是一位法国的气球驾驶员及发明家，早在1793年，他就完成了美国历史上第一次载人气球航行，从费城飞往新泽西州的德特福德。自2011年起，每年的这一天人们都会热烈庆祝，以致敬这一空中壮举。在今天的图片中，太阳落在格兰德河的上空，照亮了新墨西哥州阿尔伯克基上空的彩色热气球。每年的10月初，人们从世界各地赶来齐聚一堂，参加为期9天的阿尔伯克基国际热气球节，这是世界上最盛大的热气球节，在这里，人们可以欣赏到经验丰富的热气球驾驶员熟练地操作他们的热气球。

Balloon Ascension Day

Up, up, and away! Today is Balloon Ascension Day, celebrating the anniversary of the first manned balloon flight in North America. French aeronaut Jean-Pierre Blanchard's flight took him from Philadelphia to Deptford, New Jersey, back in 1793. Interest in ballooning took off from there and today, hot air balloon festivals take place across the country, including Albuquerque, where today's sunrise image was taken. Every year, hundreds of thousands of people attend the nine-day Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta—the largest hot air balloon festival in the world—to see skilled pilots expertly maneuver their baskets through balloon-filled skies.

普韦布洛·博尼托镇，查科文化国家历史公园，美国新墨西哥州 Pueblo Bonito, Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico (© Ian Shive/Tandem Stills + Motion)

如果这些墙会说话······ If these walls could talk...

查科文化国家历史公园，美国新墨西哥州

数百年来，新墨西哥州的查科峡谷一直是普韦布洛人祖先的主要文化中心，他们的族群在这里扎根并繁荣起来。然而，由于高地沙漠冬季漫长、少雨且生长季节短暂，在这里生活并非易事。尽管面临这些挑战，普韦布洛人还是找到了在这个条件艰苦的地方繁荣发展的方法。今天，查科文化国家历史公园让我们得以窥见古老的普韦布洛人的文化、传统和价值观。该遗址是史前时代举办典礼的公共建筑的所在地，建筑风格具有普韦布洛文化的独特特征。这些建筑仿照古代的悬崖民居，由石灰石块或土坯砖建造而成。

Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico

These circular walls belong to Pueblo Bonito, one of the biggest great homes in Chaco Culture National Historical Park, New Mexico. Between around 850 CE and 1250 CE, Chaco Canyon became a major cultural center for the Ancestral Puebloans, who lived in what is now known as the Four Corners region.

With long winters, little rain, and short growing seasons, the high desert wasn't the easiest place to live but the Pueblo people found ways to thrive here. Today, the park offers a glimpse into an ancient culture's traditions and way of life. The site is home to remnants of prehistoric ceremonial and massive stone buildings, called great houses. Pueblo Bonito, pictured on our homepage, took decades to build and stood four or five stories tall with more than 600 rooms. It would have been used for ceremonies, commerce, astronomy, hospitality, and more. Eventually, Chaco's influence declined, and the people moved on. These ruins are a window onto its glorious past, at the heart of an ancient civilization.

阿尔伯克基国际气球节上的气球, 阿尔伯克基市, 新墨西哥州 Balloons at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico (© gmeland/Shutterstock)

最古老的飞行方式 The oldest way to fly

Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta

October means pumpkin fields, Halloween, leaf-peeping, and the World Series. But in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the beginning of October means a skyful of hot air balloons. The 50th Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta is the largest gathering of balloonists in the world, with more than 500 hot air balloons going aloft this week. The now 9-day event got its start by launching 13 balloons from a shopping mall parking lot in 1972 to celebrate the birthday of a local radio station. It has easily become the biggest event of the year in Albuquerque, whose entire populace can view balloons in flight simply by stepping outside their homes and looking up.

The event is staged from the 365-acre Balloon Fiesta Park, on the northern outskirts of Albuquerque with the Sandia Mountains a few miles away. The Balloon Fiesta claims to be the most photographed event in the world, and it's easy to understand why. The highlight of the week is a mass ascension, in two waves, of all the balloons, decorated with every color and some shaped like animals or cartoon characters. In the age of jets and helicopters and rockets, this mass celebration of nearly silent flight reminds us that the magic of flying is not about speed, but simply reaching the sky.

国际热气球节

十月意味着南瓜田、万圣节、偷看树叶和世界系列赛。但在新墨西哥州的阿尔伯克基，10月初意味着满天都是热气球。第50届阿尔伯克基国际气球节是世界上最大的气球爱好者聚会，本周有500多个热气球升空。1972年，为了庆祝当地广播电台的生日，这项为期9天的活动从一个购物中心停车场发射了13个气球开始。它很容易成为阿尔伯克基一年中最大的盛事，那里的全体民众只要走出家门，抬头就能看到飞行中的气球。

该活动在365英亩的气球嘉年华公园举行，该公园位于阿尔伯克基北郊，距离桑迪亚山脉几英里。气球嘉年华声称是世界上拍摄次数最多的活动，原因很容易理解。本周的亮点是所有气球的两次大规模提升，气球上装饰着各种颜色，有些形状像动物或卡通人物。在喷气式飞机、直升机和火箭的时代，这种近乎无声飞行的大规模庆祝活动提醒我们，飞行的魔力不在于速度，而仅仅在于飞向天空。

圣达菲附近的岩石艺术, 新墨西哥州 Rock art near Santa Fe, New Mexico (© Scott Warren/Cavan)

真相就在那里，但不是在这块石头上 The truth is out there…but not on this rock

Graffiti near Santa Fe, New Mexico

Evidence of ancient aliens? Nah, more likely the etchings of a prankster hiker. Though Pueblo cultures here in northern New Mexico made pictographs in this style several centuries ago, there's no evidence they were depicting extraterrestrials. But don't get us wrong: We want to believe.

Today is Extraterrestrial Culture Day, a holiday that enjoys official status in New Mexico thanks to the 'Roswell incident' of 1947. Depending who you ask, the metallic wreck found on a remote ranch in New Mexico one July morning was either a weather balloon, a top-secret military device disguised as a weather balloon, or a bona fide alien craft. Whatever the truth, the nearby town of Roswell has gone all-in on UFO lore. It's home to numerous UFO-themed attractions, chief among them the International UFO Museum and Research Center.

新墨西哥州圣达菲附近的涂鸦

古代外星人的证据？不，更像是恶作剧徒步旅行者的蚀刻。虽然新墨西哥州北部的普韦布洛文化在几个世纪前就以这种风格制作了象形文字，但没有证据表明它们描绘了外星人。但不要误解我们：我们想要相信。

今天是外星文化日，由于1947年的“罗斯韦尔事件”，这个节日在新墨西哥州享有官方地位。7月的一天早上，在新墨西哥州一个偏远的牧场上发现的金属残骸，要么是一个气象气球，要么是伪装成气象气球的绝密军事设备，要么是一艘真正的外星人飞船。不管真相是什么，附近的罗斯韦尔镇已经完全沉浸在UFO的传说中。这里有许多以UFO为主题的景点，其中最主要的是国际UFO博物馆和研究中心。

比斯蒂荒野上的“外星孵化场”，新墨西哥州 The 'Alien Egg Hatchery' in the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness, New Mexico (© Ian Shive/Tandem Stills + Motion)

Welcome to the 'Alien Egg Hatchery'

The otherworldly rock formations in the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness inspired some creative names—such as the 'Alien Egg Hatchery' seen in this photo. More than 70 million years ago, this desert was a tidal swamp along the shore of the long-evaporated Western Interior Seaway that once bisected North America. A diverse array of sediment and rock was deposited by the waters, and after the seaway retreated, the rocks remained.

Today, these inspiring desert landscapes are a protected area thanks to the Wilderness Act of 1964. If you're planning a road trip along any of New Mexico's Scenic Byways, make time for the Trails of the Ancients Byway, which will take you directly to Bisti/De-Na-Zin.

欢迎来到“外星人蛋孵化场”

在Bisti/De Na Zin荒野中，超凡脱俗的岩层激发了一些创造性的名字，如照片中的“外星人蛋孵化场”。7000多万年前，这片沙漠是一片潮汐沼泽，位于蒸发已久的西部内陆海道沿岸，曾经将北美一分为二。海水沉积了各种各样的沉积物和岩石，在海道后退后，岩石仍然存在。

如今，由于1964年的《荒野法案》，这些令人振奋的沙漠景观已成为保护区。如果你计划沿着新墨西哥州的任何一条风景优美的小路进行公路旅行，请腾出时间去参观古人的小路，这条小路将直接带你到比斯蒂/德纳津。