This is not explained by science yet

[user1397]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sailing_stones



The sailing stones (sliding rocks, moving rocks) are a geological phenomenon where rocks move in long tracks along a smooth valley floor without human or animal intervention. They have been recorded and studied in a number of places around Racetrack Playa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Racetrack_Playa), Death Valley (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Valley), where the number and length of travel grooves are notable. The force behind their movement is not understood and is the subject of research.


Racetrack stones only move every two or three years and most tracks develop over three or four years. Stones with rough bottoms leave straight striated tracks while those with smooth bottoms wander. Stones sometimes turn over, exposing another edge to the ground and leaving a different track in the stone's wake.


Sliding rock trails fluctuate in direction and length. Some rocks which start next to each other start out traveling parallel, but one may abruptly change direction to the left, right, or even back the direction it came from. Length also varies because two similarly sized and shaped rocks could travel uniformly, then one could burst ahead or stop dead in its track.


Speed is an unknown variable. Since these stones are rarely transported and nobody has witnessed the movement, the speeds at which the rocks travel are not known.

[RichardLinx]

That's a pretty weird phenomenon. The pictures are awesome. The rocks... They're alive!

[NET WT]

Aliens could have done it...

[earthpigg]

someone, perhaps, should take a month or two off work during the winter and park their RV next to a rock. watch it.

[RichardLinx]

Good idea earthpigg. Imagine watching a rock for two months straight, you could see it sprout legs and start running around and you wouldn't know whether or not you were crazy. :)

[crlang13]

Why hasn't someone just left a camera running for days, months, years, etc to check this stuff out?

[RichardLinx]

They probably have. They just haven't figure out how it works. It's not like the rock moves a massive distance in one go (does it?) it probably happens over a fairly long period of time.

[crlang13]

It probably moves pretty fast when they speed up the video...:p

It's probably just tectonic, or magnetic.

[alexandari]

I'm scared...

[houseworkshy]

Very interesting. One would need to take a closer look at the tracks but as the scientists don't think that the wind alone is enough to move the larger rocks perhaps the physics are something to do with the fulcrum based mechanics used by the man in the video linked below.

http://sciencestage.com/v/951/building-stonehenge.html

In an environment of such temperature variation with the heavy rocks and a compressible surface as compressed dry mud can hold more water than uncompressed dry mud when the ice freezes, and expands, there is a good chance it will do so mostly where the pressure of the rock is least.


Looking closely at one of the hd photos from wikipedia the edges of the track do seem jagged which is what one would expect if the larger rocks were “walking” on their fulcrums in response to the wind.

[The Real Dave]

Shouldn't someone just hook up a camera and let it watch the rock? Something has to be moving them like :) Only reason that it hasn't be explained by science is that nobody has taken the time to watch it.

[chriswyatt]

I wonder if these rocks are like the ones the pioneers used to ride?

[Crimsonjester]

Chris that was just funny.....right on....

I moved them....... I used the force

[houseworkshy]

Video evidence would be good. Seems very odd that it hasn't been done when one thinks about the millions of security cameras watching not much.
If the walking on fulcrums theory is right one would expect to see the larger rocks shivering or juddering rather than moving smoothly, so even a long distance shot would be informative.

[the8thstar]

If only the fulcrum theory applied to the Public Administration...

[houseworkshy]

Maybe it does. One often has to bounce from one department to another repetedly just to get things done.

[fatality_uk]

How about really, REALLY powerful & mischievous snails?

[p_quarles]

Vortigaunts.

[whiskeylover]

Jesus.

[Uncle Spellbinder]

A minute and a half long, this video might explain it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1hoiHvOeGc

[RiceMonster]

someone, perhaps, should take a month or two off work during the winter and park their RV next to a rock. watch it.

Sounds like loads of fun.

[tgalati4]

Desert curling.

[sudoer541]

Aliens could have done it...


They did a nice job!!!!!!!!! wow, they have really good laser beams.
On the other hand... a Yoshi could have done it!
You know Yoshis eat everything, so maybe that rock didnt taste as well as he expected? On the other hand, maybe Link broke it while trying to pull out the master sword... and he got stuck in the seven year period cuz the rock broke and he cant put the sword back? Everything is possible.

[Lightstar]

You're not explained by science yet

[MaxIBoy]

Could it be water in the ground freezing and expanding? Since it rains rarely in the desert, that could explain the intermittent nature of the movement, and the soil quality could result in the water staying near the surface.

Just a guess. I know in places where it freezes a lot, stones can appear out of the ground due to this kind of thing.

[Tristam Green]

Vortigaunts.

More like Gordon Frohman (NOT the sausage king of Chicago).

[sdowney717]

What happens is people tie a very very long rope around these blocks of stone and simply pull them. When they walk up they are very careful to remove all evidence of their foot prints. what happens is the rope has a stretchy spring effect so when you start pulling, it does not always go in a straight line. And sometimes the rocks will tumble and start moving on a new surface.

This is just another type of human fooling others like CROP CIRCLES.

[tjwoosta]

I just watched a show about this on the History channel. The geologist they interviewed about this had her own explanation, and shed been studying this for years.

She said when it rains in this area the dry crusty earth (which is actually just dried up clay) turns into an extreamely slippery, low friction, surface. She said the winds in this area regualarly range from 50 to 60 mph with gusts up to 90 mph, and the jagged mountains all around the area create crosswinds in all directions. The rocks are being pushed arcoss the low friction surface by the wind.

[user1397]

still, it hasn't been fully explained...

[Chronon]

Yeah, but nothing has been fully explained.

[LinuxFanBoi]

When ever science can't explain something just substitute a religious belief to fill in the gaps. For now, we can say god moved the rocks.

[RevKeltina]

I think it might be aliens messing with our heads. Move the rocks and wait for the stupid humans to come try and figure out why.....if you camped out there, they would abduct you to keep you from talking!!

[bigbrovar]

I know many of you wont believe this. But in fact those rocks are moved by Trolls and yes the same ones who make irrelevant posts in public forums in other to attract attentions and cause flame wars. Yeah they also move rocks :-|

[cascade9]

A minute and a half long, this video might explain it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1hoiHvOeGc

That might actually work. ;)


What happens is people tie a very very long rope around these blocks of stone and simply pull them. When they walk up they are very careful to remove all evidence of their foot prints. what happens is the rope has a stretchy spring effect so when you start pulling, it does not always go in a straight line. And sometimes the rocks will tumble and start moving on a new surface.

This is just another type of human fooling others like CROP CIRCLES.

LOL, crop circles arent always a hoax. There are few features fairly common to crop circles that are not going to be made by a couple of people with boards and some rope. A lot of the better circles (e.g. the 'julia set' that appeared next to stonehenge) would be impossible to be made that way anyhow, even if you leave aside the quality differences between the hoaxes and the 'real' circles.

[handy]

You all, might like these?

http://space.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18524911.600