The moving rocks, also known as sliding rocks or sailing stones, are a geological phenomenon found in Racetrack Playa, a seasonally dry lake (a playa) located in the Panamint Mountains in Death Valley National Park, California. The rocks move across the surface of the playa, leaving long tracks behind them as they go, without human or animal intervention. They have never been seen or filmed in motion.

Racetrack rocks only move once every two or three years and most tracks last for just three or four years. Rocks with rough bottoms leave straight striated tracks while those with smooth bottoms wander.

Most of the moving stones originate from an 850 foot (260 m) high hillside made of dark dolomite on the south end of the playa, but some are intrusive igneous rock from adjacent slopes. Tracks are often tens to hundreds of feet (low to high tens of meters) long, a few to 12 inches (8 to 30 cm) wide, and typically less than an inch (2.5 cm) deep.

Over the years there were many speculations and possible explanations made on how the stones move, ranging from supernatural to very complex. Most hypotheses favored by interested geologists posit that strong winds when the mud is wet are at least in part responsible. But some stones weigh as much as a human, which some researchers feel is too heavy for the area's wind to move. They maintain that ice sheets around the stones either help to catch the wind or move in ice flows.

But both theories don't explain how two rocks right next to each other could go in two opposite directions or one could stay put while the one three times the size, doesn't. So far every attempt of explanation has been insufficient and purely assumptive. The mystery of moving rocks is yet to be revealed.

Comments (54)

4  Written by elmmer, on 01-02-2008 16:05 Idiots...they move by homeo-sense extra genious arrays that are analagous to detramin and extramin enovoid plomulgation.    It's so ovbious!!!

6  Written by yourmom., on 01-02-2008 17:11 can we just not try and explain it. its one of thoes unanswered questions. just leave it alone!

9  Written by mandy, on 01-02-2008 22:37 maybe, just maybe........      this is a complete fake! OMG THE WORLD IS ENDING!!!!!!! OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!          idiots.

13  Written by paddy, on 02-02-2008 04:50 dumb ass yanks

14  Written by JammyKing, on 02-02-2008 06:10 I know how the rock seems to move! PhotoShop!

16  Written by kate, on 02-02-2008 06:53 WHY OR WHY HASNT ANYONE UNDERSTOOD IT AS THE ART IT IS, they pushed the rocks, and as they are alot heavier than people and the ground is so hard on the rocks 'foot prints' are left.   YOU are the kinda people who believe crop circles of hello kitty were made by felinophilic aliens! just appreciate it for the beautiful ART it is!

22  Written by urbl, on 02-02-2008 20:52 Re: Adjacent rocks moving in different directions...    Who says the two rocks moved at the same time? How does the slope of the ground vary from point to point? Look, all these rocks can do is move in response to the forces applied to them. If the tangential (parallel-to-ground) component of force applied by rain, wind, humans, or whatever exceeds the local frictional force, guess what... The rock moves. If it's muddy or icy, that frictional force may be quite small indeed. Or, if there's rushing water from a flash flood, the tangential force may be quite large. If the rock becomes submerged, bouyancy reduces the frictional force somewhat.    Yet another example of beautiful (or at least interesting) patterns produced by nature. Nothing more, nothing less. If you're out that way, a trip to Death Valley is well worth it.

23  Written by porkchop, on 03-02-2008 15:48 Chuck Norris might have something to do with this

41  Written by Fat Mike, on 26-02-2008 00:49 I thought I was the Only one she took out there well ne ways it was fun she looked like and by the way you should have wraped it

48  Written by dayyeah, on 21-03-2008 20:05 DiS iS wEiRd   tHtS aLl i gOT 2 sAy