02-25-2012, 12:04 AM
A Sailing Stone in Death Valley
How did this big rock end up on this strange terrain? One of the more unusual places here on Earth occurs inside Death Valley,
California, USA. There a dried lakebed named Racetrack Playa exists that is almost perfectly flat, with the odd exception of
some very large stones, one of which is pictured above. Now the flatness and texture of large playa like Racetrack are fasci-
nating
but not scientifically puzzling -- they are caused by mud flowing,
drying, and cracking after a heavy rain. Only recently,
however, has a viable scientific hypothesis been given to explain how 300-kilogram sailing stones ended up near the middle of
such a large flat surface. Unfortunately, as frequently happens in science, a seemingly surreal problem ends up having a rela-
tively mundane solution. It turns out that high winds after a rain can push even heavy rocks across a temporarily slick lakebed
How did this big rock end up on this strange terrain? One of the more unusual places here on Earth occurs inside Death Valley,
California, USA. There a dried lakebed named Racetrack Playa exists that is almost perfectly flat, with the odd exception of
some very large stones, one of which is pictured above. Now the flatness and texture of large playa like Racetrack are fasci-
nating
but not scientifically puzzling -- they are caused by mud flowing,
drying, and cracking after a heavy rain. Only recently,
however, has a viable scientific hypothesis been given to explain how 300-kilogram sailing stones ended up near the middle of
such a large flat surface. Unfortunately, as frequently happens in science, a seemingly surreal problem ends up having a rela-
tively mundane solution. It turns out that high winds after a rain can push even heavy rocks across a temporarily slick lakebed