One of the best possible places to study sand dunes in action is located northeast of Las Cruces in the White Sands National Monument. There you can see the different dune types in a vast expanse of gypsum sand deposited after an ancient lake evaporated. Another wind formed land feature is desert pavement. Desert pavement is formed when the dried soil is constantly blown out by the wind, leaving heavier material behind. The result is a ground surface composed mainly of pebbles and cobbles.
Water plays a very large role in the formation of desert landforms.
Rainfall in the desert occurs most often in brief but intense cloudbursts. The ground cannot absorb all of the water dumped on it in such a short time. As a result, the excess water erodes the landscape in the form of flash floods.