Wandering Stones

There are such incredible places on the planet that it's hard to believe. Moving stones in 'Death Valley' on the dried-up lake bed of Racetrack Playa in California, USA. For over a hundred years now, something mysterious has been happening in Death Valley that even scientists cannot explain. Stones weighing from 30 to 300 kg move by themselves, leaving long shallow tracks up to 250 m long. Stones lying with their ribbed side facing the surface move in a straight line, while those lying flat side down on the sand wander from side to side. Moreover, they can move either alone or several at once. Until now, various hypotheses have been proposed about the cause of their movement, but NASA geologist Professor Ralph Lorenz put forward a theory that could be the truth. He claimed that in winter ice forms around the stones, and when the lake bed thaws, under the influence of strong wind, the stones begin to move. At the same time, questions remain: why some stones stay in place all the time, while others scatter in all directions, whereas regular winds should have driven them to one of the lake's edges, and why some stones that are nearby move parallel to each other, while others diverge in different directions.