Death Valley Sailing Stones | |
---|---|
A photo of a stone | |
Background | |
Type | Phenomena |
Continent | North America |
Country | United States |
One-Time? | No |
Theories | · Ice shove · Hoax |
The Death Valley Sailing Stones are a geological phenomenon where rocks move and inscribe long tracks along a smooth valley floor without human or animal intervention. This phenomenon has been debunked and explained.
Description[]
Stones with rough bottoms leave straight striated tracks while those with smooth bottoms tend to 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 to the direction from which it came. Trail length also varies – two similarly sized and shaped rocks may travel uniformly, then one could move ahead or stop in its track.
Possible Explanations[]
There are several explanations as to what the phenomenon could be. Theories include:
- Ice shove
- A hoax
Trivia[]
- Clouds are in fact capable of odd appearance and behavior.