a 700 pound boulder for 3/4 of a mile in a winding, twisting path. The theory though faces several inconvienient facts. For one thing, while many rock trails do seem to travel parralell to one another, they in truth do not, and one will abrubtly turn away from the other, at seemingly random intervals. In the fifties an experiment was performed to test the theory, and proved conclusively that the ice sheet was not moving the rocks. |
Deep with Death Valley National Park is a place called the Racetrack Playa. It lies 3,708 feet above sea level, 2.8 miles long and 1.3 miles wide. It is almost perfectly flat the north end is only five centimeters higher than the south end. It is called the Race Track Playa, and is home to a unique phenomenom. It seems that while no one is looking, the dolomite rocks which crumble from the cliff face at the southern end, travel whimsically across the vast dry lake bed. The rocks leave trails behind them as they make their way, the only testament to their unruly behavior. |
The phenomenon was noticed over a hundred years ago by explorers and gold miners, but was not really studied scientifically until about 1948. To this day, the reason for their wayward ways has not been fully explained. There are two main schools of thought surrounding it, one which says ice sheets are responsible for the rocks travails and the other that a combination of dampness and tornadic winds provide the force. Interestingly, proponents of each have debunked the others claims, by showing faults in the scientific process at which the various conclusions seem to reach. It has even been suggested that the rocks |
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
">
motion is the result of teenage pranksters. This theory can be ruled out right away as the footprints of the culprits would be visible as well. Some of the trails, including foot prints of people, can be fossilized for years before fading. The furrows of the rocks show that the Playa is wet when they do move. As a rule, it is never considered that the rocks might also be moving when the Playa is dry, leaving no trails, except by lunatic fringe extremists like myself. |
One school of thought is that ice sheets form on the lake bed in the winter, and sections break off and are aqueezed and pushed along, thus providing the much needed force to push |
a 700 pound boulder for 3/4 of a mile in a winding, twisting path. The theory though faces several inconvienient facts. For one thing, while many rock trails do seem to travel parralell to one another, they in truth do not, and one will abrubtly turn away from the other, at seemingly random intervals. In the fifties an experiment was performed to test the theory, and proved conclusively that the ice sheet was not moving the rocks. |
">
">
">
">
The other school of thought says that a combination of exotic wind gusting conditions, a slick lakebed, not to wet, but not to dry, all add up to make the rocks move. In truth, the erratic yet generally northward movements of the rocks, support the wind gust theory. So to with the soil conditions, a lower coefficient of friction would greatly reduce the amount of force needed to move everything from one pound rocks to 1/3 of a ton boulders around like a magic game of shuffle board combined with ice hockey. However, there are problems with this theory as well. The rocks are leaving furrows as they move, so even in slippery mud the normal force exerted on the rock, even in slippery mud, is relatively high. |
">
">
">
">
Another question is why does this only happen in one place on the Earth? And an even bigger question is: Where do the rocks go when they reach the far side of the Playa? There should be thousands of rocks at the northern face of the lake bed. It is well known that the rocks begin their journey at the southern end, where a large dolamite cliff is slowly crumbling. Yet strangely enough, the rocks seem to disappear once they have crossed the Playa, as there are very few to be found. The lakebed is now considered a protected wildlands part of the Death Valley National Park. The lakebed has been a favorite place from everything from drug smugglers to rock thieves. The rocks all have names, and the new laws surrounding the area are making it more and more difficult to study the phenomenon. As protected wild lands, the lake bed must be kept in pristine, natural condition. This means that no one is allowed on the Playa while it is wet. You are not allowed to drive anything, even a bicycle on the surface at any point. Dolamite, in general does not contain any iron, thus ruling out that magnetism may be playing a role in the mystery. |
">
">
">
">
