Death Valley

Death Valley, the name is foreboding and gloomy. Yet in this valley, much of it below sea level, or in its surrounding mountains you can find spectacular wildflower displays, snow covered peaks, beautiful sand dunes, abandoned mines and industrial structures, and the hottest and the lowest place in North America. Death Valley's outstanding natural beauty and scientific importance were first brought to the attention of the National Park Service in the late 20's. With the support of Stephen T. Mather, Director of the National Park Service, Death Valley's national significance was recognized, and it was proclaimed a national monument by President Hoover on February 11, 1933. With the passage of the Desert Protection Act of October 31, 1994, Death Valley grew by 1,200,000 acres and was designated a national park. Today Death Valley National Park is made up of 3,336,000 acres and contains more than 3,000,000 acres of wilderness. Another funny fact about Death Valley is the “Mysterie” about Sailing rocks. These are not ordinary moving rocks that tumble down mountainsides in avalanches, are carried along riverbeds by flowing water, or are tossed aside by animals. These rocks, some as heavy as 700 pounds, are inexplicably transported across a virtually flat desert plain, leaving erratic trails in the hard mud behind them, some hundreds of yards long.

Sailing stones, sliding rocks, and moving rocks all refer to 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, Death Valley, where the number and length of travel grooves are notable. The force behind their movement is not confirmed and is the subject of research.

The stones move only 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.

Trails differ in both direction and length. Rocks that start next to each other may travel parallel for a time, before one abruptly changes direction to the left, right, or even back the direction it came from. Trail length also varies – two similarly sized and shaped rocks may travel uniformly, then one could move ahead or stop in its track.