The Mysterious Moving Stones,
up to 700+ pounds, and up to 2 miles moved
Racetrack Playa (national park of Death Valley, California) is
famous for its moving stones. The floor of the playa (an ancient
lake) is dried, scorched mud which has broken into perfect little
octagons and pentagons. It's as flat as flat can be. And there are
roaming rocks which seem to move on their own. The stones vary from
pebble size to half ton boulders and vary in size and shape due to
them breaking off the hills you see behind in the photo. Their
tracks vary in length and go every which way from zig-zags to loops
and double back on themselves. Some travel only a few feet; others
go for hundreds of yards. How wind loops and doubles back on itself
and zig zags? Why two rocks right next to each other take totally
different paths, why some are left untouched?