The Mystery of the Moving Stones at Death Valley: Solved in 2014

Jakarta –

At Racetrack Playa, a dry lake bed in Death Valley National Park in California, United States, there is a strange phenomenon that is hard to explain. The stones there can move and walk independently over a considerable distance.

These rocks traverse the Death Valley area and leave trails that look stunning when viewed from the air. Over the years, the movement of these rocks has been a mystery. Finally in 2014, this puzzle was solved.

Researchers found that the rocks are moved by panels of melted thin ice, and propelled by light winds, in winter. The sailing stones or slide stones of Racetrack Playa have been observed and studied since the early 1900’s.

As quoted from Earth Sky, Wednesday (19/7/2023) this phenomenon has long been expected to occur when strong winds push rocks. However, there are a number of more fantastic theories that suggest there is involvement of a magnetic field, to signs of alien arrivals from outer space.

In August 2014, a group of researchers assisted by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, NASA, and a number of other scientists announced that they had solved the mystery. In a statement, Richard D. Norris and his cousin James M. Norris said the rock movement occurred during a rare combination of conditions in winter.

Moving stones in Death Valley. Photo: Plos One

In order to allow the rocks to move, there must be a shallow layer of water at the dry lake bottom and night temperatures cool enough to form a thin layer of ice. On sunny days, melting causes the ice to break up into large floating panels that are pushed up by gentle breezes, then push against rocks to move them, then leave footprints in the desert. The study was later published in the editorial and peer-reviewed journal Plos One.

As seen in the video above, rocks can be seen sailing or sliding down Racetrack Playa Death Valley.

The Norris brothers launch their investigation of sailing stones. It was then that they founded what they called the Slithering Stones Research Initiative. They set up a weather station near Racetrack Playa and purposely placed 15 GPS-embedded rocks.

Then, they watched the rocks. From 4 December to 20 December 2013, rocks were known to slide across Racetrack Playa at speeds of 3-5 meters per minute. They also saw many other examples of sailing stones. Thanks to this research, the two became the first in the world to witness rocks in motion.

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(rns/fay)

2023-07-19 01:15:46
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