Book 16, Question 124
How Do Rocks Slide Across a Dry Lakebed?
Rocks slide across a dry lakebed because of a clever team-up of water, thin ice, and wind! At Racetrack Playa in Death Valley, heavy rocks leave long trails across flat, cracked mud. For years, nobody saw them move.
More fun facts
- Racetrack Playa in Death Valley is a flat, dry lake bed covered with mysterious rock trails.
- Some of the rocks weigh as much as 700 pounds.
- The trails puzzled scientists for more than 60 years.
- Researchers found the rocks are pushed by thin sheets of ice on breezy, sunny days.
- Some rocks leave matching trails that stretch for hundreds of meters.
Sources: Smithsonian Magazine, BBC, National Park Service, Science News Explores
Questions kids ask
What pushes the rocks at Racetrack Playa?
Thin sheets of ice push them on breezy, sunny days.