background preloader

Sailing Stones 1

Facebook Twitter

The Mysterious Sailing Stones of Death Valley. The Mystery Behind the Sailing Stones of Death Valley. Sailing stone in Racetrack Playa Death Valley National Park in California is home to a place called The Racetrack Playa.

The Mystery Behind the Sailing Stones of Death Valley

The Racetrack is a dry lake situated 1130m above sea level, and even though it is 4.5km long, the ground is surprisingly flat, with only a 4cm height differential between the north and south ends. The mountains surrounding the Racetrack, comprised primarily of dark dolomite, reach as high as 1731m above the lake bed. When the heavy rains come, water rushes down the mountains and onto the lake bed, forming a shallow endorheic lake. Due to the hot temperatures of the region, the water evaporates, leaving behind a layer of soft mud. The Sailing Stones of Egypt. Just What Are Sailing Stones? Share this article 0Share Look at these pictures and let your imagination try to figure out how this came to pass.

Just What Are Sailing Stones?

Stones in the middle of nowhere that leave trails behind them, yet nobody for miles, and no animals either. Just how did they move? What’s making them move? The Racetrack Playa, or The Racetrack, is a scenic dry lake feature with “sailing stones” that leave linear “racetrack” imprints. During periods of heavy rain, water washes down from the mountains onto the Playa, forming a shallow, short-lived lake. The phenomenon of “Sailing Rocks” refers to rocks that move, leaving trails differing in both direction and length. There are those who believe that environmental factors come into play to provide a balance of specific conditions needed for the stones to move: A saturated yet non-flooded surfaceA thin layer of clayVery strong gusts of wind as the initiating forceStrong sustained wind to keep the stones going This leads to many questions that are still today unanswered. [Source: The mystery behind the sailing stones of Death Valley - by Michael Totten.

By Michael Totten Created on : May 30, 2012 The stones of Death Valley move on their own.

The mystery behind the sailing stones of Death Valley - by Michael Totten

A few of the sailing stones are as heavy as 80 pounds. Some stones have moved as far as 659 feet in a single winter, leaving long trails behind them. Some do not move at all for up to 4 years. Sailing Stones of Death Valley. The sailing stones of Death Valley are a rare and natural phenomenon which have left experts baffled for generations.

Sailing Stones of Death Valley

These stones or rocks slide on their own and leave long tracks along their path of movement. These tracks are found in a number of places all over Racetrack Playa. No one has actually seen the rocks moving because the tracks are made at a very slow pace and take about three to four years to form, while the stones are believed to slide every two to three years. Let us learn some more interesting facts about these gliding stones.

Facts on Moving Rocks in Death Valley These stones have a mind of their own and are completely unpredictable. Sailing stones. Sailing stone. Sailing Stones. Sailing stones. Sailing stones. SailingStones. Sailing Stones of Death Valley. Sailing stones. Sailing stones 4. Sailing stones. Sailing-stone. Sailing stones. Sailing-stones-zig-zag. Buzzle.