The Mescalero Ridge forms the western edge of the great Llano Estacado, a vast plateau or tableland in the southwestern United States in New Mexico and Texas.

[2][3] It is the western equivalent of the Caprock Escarpment, which defines the eastern edge of the Llano Estacado.

[4][5] In 1928, Nelson Horatio Darton of the United States Geological Survey observed: “On the east side of the Pecos Valley in southern New Mexico there are very extensive sand hills formed of deposits known as the ‘Mescalero Sands,’ which are doubtless of Quaternary age ...”[6] In places, these sands climb up and over the Mescalero Ridge and spread out over portions of the Llano Estacado.

[8] Addendum: The Mescalero Sands National Natural Landmark South Dune are three mobile dunes separated by a vast oak forest known as "Shinnery" composed of shin high "Quercus harvardii".

[5] They are located at the base of the Mescalero Ridge known locally as the "Caprock" on the western side of the Llano Estacado between Tatum and Roswell, New Mexico five miles south of the north sands recreational area.

[10] Past studies have shown the dunes are moving up to ten feet a year to the northeast as a result of the prevailing southwesterly winds.

[8,13 ] The first permanent resident in region was a buffalo hunter named George Causey who built a waystation at the base of the escarpment to serve the need for commerce between Midland, Texas and Roswell, New Mexico.

[14] Another prominent figure it the immediate vicinity was a settler known as "Old Man" Harry Robinson who was buried next to his rock house east of the dune field in 1911.

Clyde Browning became a valuable resource for the historical record within the surrounding local stating, "If it hadn't been for the sandhill white-tailed deer we would have starved out".

[11] However, the ecology of the biome is still rich and diverse with a breeding population of the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard, "Sceloporus arenicolus" as well as the Lesser Prairie Chicken "Tympanuchus pallidicinctus" which have been placed on the threatened/endangered species list.

53, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Biological Survey, U.S. Government Printing Office, 412 pp.

35, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Biological Survey, U.S. Government Printing Office, 100 pp.

Findley, James S., Arthur H. Harris, Don E. Wilson and Clyde Jones.

Hall, Steven A., 2008,” Archaeological Geology of the Mescalero Sands, Southeastern New Mexico”, Plains Anthropologist, Vol.

To Save A Dune, The Greater Llano Estacado Southwest Heritage, Vol.

National Park Service 1982 “Mescalero Sands South Dune”, National Natural Landmarks, https://www.nps.gov/subjects/nnlandmarks/site.htm?Site=MESA-NM Bureau of Land Management 2020 "Mescalero Sands North Dune OHV Area" https://www.blm.gov/visit/mescalero-sands-north-dune-ohv-area Center for Biological Diversity 2011 "Dunes Sagebrush Lizard" https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/reptiles/dunes_sagebrush_lizard/index.html This New Mexico state location article is a stub.