Racing Rocks ???

[pegleglooker]

Can you believe this

PLL

The sailing stones are a geological phenomenon found in the Racetrack Playa (a seasonally dry lake located in the northern part of the Panamint Mountains in Death Valley National Park, California, U.S.A.). The stones slowly move across the surface of the playa, leaving a track as they go, without human or animal intervention. They have never been seen or filmed in motion and are not unique to The Racetrack. Similar rock travel patterns have been recorded in several other playas in the region but the number and length of travel grooves on The Racetrack are notable. Racetrack stones only move once every two or three years and most tracks last for just three or four years. Stones with rough bottoms leave straight striated tracks while those with smooth bottoms wander. Stones sometimes turn over, exposing another edge to the ground and leaving a different-sized track in the stone’s wake.

Various and sometimes idiosyncratic possible explanations have been put forward over the years that have ranged from the supernatural to the very complex. Most hypotheses favored by interested geologists posit that strong winds when the mud is wet are at least in part responsible. Some stones weigh as much as a human, which some researchers such as geologist George M. Stanley who published a paper on the topic in 1955 feel is too heavy for the area’s wind to move.

[pegleglooker]

Hey gang,
GREAT article TT. I really think they are just nature's little suv...

PLL

[dobbie]

ya i heard about those. would love to go see them in action one day.

[highdesertranger]

been there seen that pretty awesome as far as wind some are fair size when i was there wind was blowing 40+ but the lake bed was dry not much rain falls here my guess is under 5 inches per year. i am thinking UFOs move them some kind of game they play. ha ha
highdesertranger

[Mojave Jack]

These playa lake beds are not as dry as they appear. Dig down a few inches and the ground is damp--a couple of feet and you can get seepage of brine water.

Here's my theory on the rock movements:

Between the occasional rains in the mountains above the lake, combined with small temblors in the area, pockets of water under the lake are formed, or shift. During this movement of water under the ground, the flat lake bed shifts, causing the rocks to slide forward a few feet. Over time, it looks like they are scooting across the lakebed under the influence of an invisible hand. It's an interesting mystery, and I believe the lack of visual confirmation of the rocks moving is more a question of human time versus geologic time. That is, who is willing to wait around for two years to see a rock move an inch?

As for the wind theory, I was born and raised in the desert and have seen frequent winds of the 60-80 mph range. I've yet to see the wind move a boulder.

[faller]

I was there checking them out last year. The twenty miles of washboards rattled my camper shell to bits. It seems very apparent to me (in other words just my opinion) that the rocks are dragged around while imbedded in a sheet of ice. Many of them have left identical tracks with the same 90 degree direction changes like spreading your fingers and making marks in dirt. I think they get frozen in a sheet then a little water gets under the sheet and lifts it some, then the winds push it around.

Pretty cool to look at though, I'd suffer the road to check it out again.

RON