Forget the standard beach vacation this summer - and fire up the 4WD to Death Valley National Park. It wont be an easy trip but what you find is a geographical phenomenon most people have never heard of: Racetrack Playa or sometimes known as 'Sailing Stones'.In the middle of the playa, which is a dry lake bed, are rocks weighing several hundred pounds that have created pathways that are hundreds of feet long. But here’s the deal – no one knows how they move. They have never been filmed or seen in motion and there are no footprints behind them- just long trails. The confusion not only lies in the depth and length of track but also the inconsistency at which they move. Several hundred pound rocks right next to each other take completely navigation different paths and some don't move at all.
Some zig zag some loop some are just straight lines but all in all it continues to be a mystery.
Here are some additional stats:
• Stones only move once every two or three years and most tracks last for three or four years.
• The playa itself (dry, lake bed) is 2.5 mil
es long and 1.25 miles wide• Almost perfectly flat surface and almost always dry (rainfall only a couple of inches a year)
Some say its underground magnetics, some say aliens, many think winds. But after years of intrigue and scientific research- everyone has come out with one conclusion - it doesn't make sense.
Road trip?
Pics ctsy: Geology.com
For more info: I like this article.
