In This Desert, Rocks Move on Their Own Across the Sand — No One Believed It at First

In This Desert, Rocks Move on Their Own Across the Sand — No One Believed It at First (Image: Canva)

The sailing stones are a natural mystery that is located deep in the Death Valley National Park of California. On a dry lake(Racetrack Playa), huge rocks weighing a few kilos seem to move independently, creating long, winding patterns left on the surface of the desert. This has long puzzled the visitors and has remained the topic of debate among the scientists as to how this phenomenon may occur with no apparent force to propel them.

It happens on a flat and dried-up lakebed raised to a level of approximately 1,130 metres. During winter, when rain is rare, it forms a thin surface of water over the playa. During the evening, when the cold sets in, the water turns to a thin mass of ice. With the rising sun in the morning, the ice is shattered into large floating sheets. The slightest wind will then cause a nudge of the ice sheets, which slide the rocks within them gently over the soft mud, leaving tracks hundreds of metres long.

The ancient travellers and explorers believed that they were moved by supernatural powers or even by pranksters, as none had ever witnessed them being moved. Only in 2014, scientists confirmed the process using time-lapse cameras and tracking tools on the use of GPS. They discovered that the rocks moved at just a few centimetres per second, and the movement could barely be felt unless one was being monitored.

Racetrack Playa is to this day one of the most bizarre locations in Death Valley. People have the opportunity to hike over the lakebed and observe dozens of trails, some winding, others straight, all of them being silent stories of how a certain rock travelled. Nonetheless, they are not allowed to touch or move the stones, as the fine patterns and current scientific studies must be preserved.

This natural phenomenon is a rarity and is more than a curiosity. It demonstrates how the forces of nature, which usually seem so powerless (wind, ice and water), can be merged to create movements that previously appeared to be impossible. To the traveller, it reminds him that some of the most interesting mysteries on Earth are coming their way, but they are going to pass at their own slow speed and that the casual observer cannot see them but has to wait until he becomes a patient viewer.