Gypsum Dunes
Dunas de Yeso

Gypsum is hydrated calcium sulfate that forms from precipitation out of highly saline waters.  The extensive dunes found in the valley are formed by gypsum blowing away from evaporating lakebeds and are stabilized by such plant species as Prosopis glandulosa, Acacia greggii, Yucca treculeana, and Varilla mexicana.  Endemic gypsophilous plant species include Machaeranthera restiformis, M. gypsophila, Gaillardia gypsophila, Dyssodia gypsophila, and Haploesthes robusta.  Other common dune plants include Selinocarpus purpusianus, Nerisyrenia incana, Petalonyx crenatus, Tiquila hispidissima, Euphorbia astyla, Fouquieria splendens, Opuntia leptocaulis, and Echinocereus enneacanthus.  The dunes in the valley have been extensively mined, leaving very few undamaged locations.

The above plant occurence information is from / información sobre las plantas de las dunas es desde :
Pinkava, Donald J. 1979 Vegetation and flora of the Bolsón of Cuatro Cienegas region, Coahuila, Mexico: I. Boletin de la Sociedad Botánica de México 38(1):35- 73.

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Below is a picture gallery of dunes and some associated organisms found in Cuatrociénegas.