What Causes the Rocks to Slide on Death Valley's Racetrack Playa?

[Ivan Seeking]

The Racetrack Playa, at an elevation of 1131 m, is a dry lakebed nestled in the Panamint Range in Death Valley National Park, California. Though almost perfectly flat, it shows evidence of dynamic traction (sliding) of boulder-sized and smaller rock fragments that tumble onto it from two abutting cliffs and surrounding alluvial fans (Figure 1). Scars of sliding rock activity in the form of recessed furrows have been noted since the beginning of the twentieth century...yet to date no one has witnessed the actual surface process that causes the rocks to slide. [continued]

http://geomaps.wr.usgs.gov/parks/deva/racetrack.pdf

[link updated] 6/20/09

New Paper Claims Explanation
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=60676&page=5#90

 

[Andrew Mason]

http://wrgis.wr.usgs.gov/docs/usgsnps/deva/racetrack.pdf

This is a very interesting phenomenon.

FWIW, I will give you my take on it:

1. at some time during the year there obviously has to be difference between the forces acting on the rock and the forces acting on the ground beneath it AND this difference is greater than the static friction force between the ground and the rock at that time.

2. wind is insufficient to provide that force directly to the rock

3. wind might be sufficient to provide that force indirectly by pushing the surrounding ice sheet which pushes the rock with it.

4. ice movement caused by the expansion of the ice sheet against the nearby 'shore' of the dry lake bed could provide sufficient force as well.

5. perhaps it is possible that there is ground movement in winter (outward from the center of the lake bed) caused by expansion of the lake bed surface due to moisture, with the rocks being prevented from being carried along with it because they are trapped in the ice sheet. In summer the bed shrinks but carries the rocks with it then.

In any event, the ice is the only explanation that I can see.

To explore further, I would suggest that they do pressure tests in the ice on either side of the rocks during the winter and also measure movement of the ice sheet and movement of the underlying lake bed. That should give the answer.

AM

 

[matthyaouw]

I'm tempted to mention some kind of heave movement, caused by thermal expansion and contraction, but I'm being purely speculative here.

 

[tonyjames]

Some interesting comments , i'd like to add to the idea that heat plays a roll and maybe gravity even though the rocks can appear to move slightly up an incline.
If the rocks are storing up heat during the day time and the ground is cooling rapidly at night (due to surface area) maybe it is possible for minor expansion and contraction of elements in the uneven ground surface to cause deviations in topography around the rock which cause it to move down a very slight gradient.
As the rock moves (with its stored heat) so the whole process moves along the ground which is heated slightly by the rock. The uneven surface of the ground may account for the apparent random direction in which the rocks end up moving. As for wind blowing the rocks around,, i would like to see the measurement of forces needed to to get a vaiety of rock sizes moving in the first place, as i don't believe this is likely.
It would be good to see some measurements of temperature deviation between the rock surfaces and ground surfaces as this mechanism should not be underestimated.

 

[Mk]

Some interesting comments , i'd like to add to the idea that heat plays a roll and maybe gravity even though the rocks can appear to move slightly up an incline.
If the rocks are storing up heat during the day time and the ground is cooling rapidly at night (due to surface area) maybe it is possible for minor expansion and contraction of elements in the uneven ground surface to cause deviations in topography around the rock which cause it to move down a very slight gradient.
As the rock moves (with its stored heat) so the whole process moves along the ground which is heated slightly by the rock. The uneven surface of the ground may account for the apparent random direction in which the rocks end up moving. As for wind blowing the rocks around,, i would like to see the measurement of forces needed to to get a vaiety of rock sizes moving in the first place, as i don't believe this is likely.
It would be good to see some measurements of temperature deviation between the rock surfaces and ground surfaces as this mechanism should not be underestimated.

Wow. That sounds extremely good.

How could wind blow the rocks? They wouldn't have a trail then!

 

[Andre]

And thus the Glacial world is full of surprises. Like this closely related problem:

http://instaar.colorado.edu/cosmolab/vitae/Briner_et_al_2003.pdf

Look especially at figure 3. How does a fresh 11,000 year old rock end up a strongly weathered old bedrock, given that a sliding ice sheet / glacier wears out the bedrock in a completely different way?

Then there is the cold based hypothesis, which assumes that the bottom ice is frozen solid to the bedrock while the sliding happes at higher levels in the ice. I can see some problems with that, one for instance that this does not seem to happen anywhere today and even frozen solid, ice always remains elastic under atmospheric conditions and will distort under pressures.

So, how about a shallow ice sheet, unable to exert strong enough forces on the bedrock to wipe out the old weathering and more sliding rocks?

 

[O2Polluter]

I've been out to the Playa --- long 30 mile 4X4 drive in down washoboard roads. Stop at the old western sign and leave a tea kettle at Tea Kettle Junction --- it's a tradition!

My guess is that the surface which is crackled becomes slippery when wet. The trails themselves are hardened crackled trenches on the playa. Note: there were wet spots when I was out there. And, the wind tunnel effect of the winds coming up off China Lake military bombing range coupled with the winds from Death Valley and the Nellis bombing range make for tornadic activity on occasion when the ground is wet.

I say some rocks that appeared to have dropped out of the sky. Leaving just a crater and not a trail. Yet, they appeared the same as the other rocks on the Playa.

Some of the trails defy explanation for the crossing marks of where the rock crossed a previos path it had made were quite simply impossible physically. Yet, it was very apparent that it was not man made. However, there are other spots on the playa where it is evident that faux trails were made (probably by college students)!

 

[O2Polluter]

Excuse my typos above. But, in addition, I noticed acoustical phenomena there as well. I could hear aircraft that were not over the playa or anywhere over the valley at all. They either had to be invisible or there was some reflection of sound off the atmosphere or a funnel of sound from aircraft out over China Lake or Nellis. As well, I could occasionally hear mountain climbers from an incredible distance given the distance alone it would have been phenomenal. Given that there were strong episodic winds and I could still hear them on occasion made it even more incredible.

 

[wolram]

A Wiki article.

The sailing stones are a geological phenomenon found in the Racetrack. The stones slowly move across the surface of the playa, leaving a track as they go, without human or animal intervention. They have never been seen or filmed in motion. Racetrack stones only move once every two or three years and most tracks last for just 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-sized track in the stone's wake.

The sailing stones are most likely moved by strong winter winds (up to 90 mph), once it has rained enough to fill the playa with just enough water to make the clay slippery. The prevailing winds across Racetrack Playa travel blow from southwest to northeast. Most of the rock trails are parallel to this direction, lending support to this hypothesis.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

If this only happens when winds approach 90 mph, it is no wonder that no one has ever witnessed the process directly. But one does have to wonder why some rocks change direction while apparently others don't. If the tracks only exist for a few years and they only move every few years, it seems that we wouldn't expect to see a complex history. But I guess this could result from surface features of the lakebed.

I see the original link is dead. Just google for "racetrack playa" for plenty of photos and additional information.

 

[matthyaouw]

But one does have to wonder why some rocks change direction while apparently others don't.QUOTE]

Maybe it's the shape of the rock. If it's laying on a surface that's not smooth, it might move more easily in one direction than another.
Or Maybe it depends how full of water the playa gets. Some rocks might be left high and dry while others slip around. I know it will be small, but I wonder what the height variation across its surface would be...
Or variation in the wind speed. It might only get up to the right level in a few areas in each storm.

 

[nottheone]

Some of the trails defy explanation for the crossing marks of where the rock crossed a previos path it had made were quite simply impossible physically.

Can you explain this in more detail? Describe the crossing and what about it makes you think it was impossible?

I had a game when I was a kid of racing horses. The horses had some kind of plastic brush on the bottom and the track vibrated to make the horses move around the track. His mentioning the nearby bases made me think of that. Maybe there is a combination of things going on here. Like wind, ice and vibrations caused by base activity. Could be sonic booms or is there a bombing range nearby? Maybe it hasn't been observed because it requires several things to coincide, not all natural. Wind, surface conditions and man-made vibrations.

 

[HiDesert]

The Wikipedia article says that the tracks were visible in 1948, so if it is a confluence of natural and anthropogenic conditions, it probably doesn't involve sonic booms.

I keep reading about ice, but I have to wonder how likely it is for the smaller stones to leave tracks in a frozen surface. For the big ones, maybe, but a small rock being dragged along a frozen surface doesn't seem likely to produce a track.

 

[Equate]

One has to wonder why no one to this date has setup a web cam to study this phenomenon.

 

[Borek]

One has to wonder why no one to this date has setup a web cam to study this phenomenon.

Are you sure there no cameras mounted there?

 

[Equate]

Are you sure there no cameras mounted there?

I know, it's hard to believe, but I am assuming it from the statement in the OP:

...yet to date no one has witnessed the actual surface process that causes the rocks to slide.

Shouldn't be too hard to set up a camera there and solve this "mistery" once and for all. Geez, we are digging up rock samples on Mars for Christ's sake...

 

[Borek]

First - original post is over four years old.

Second - it happens once per several years.

Three - area in question is several square kilometers.

Four - one camera is not enough.

 

[Equate]

I am aware of that.

Still, the task doesn't seem insurmountable to me. Bigger problems have been conquered and I, for one, am interested in those "sliding" rocks and would appreciate an explanation sooner or later.

Can't be that hard to find out, can it?

 

[OAQfirst]

Looking at some pics at the Wikipedia article, wouldn't the 90mph winds eliminate the trails? Looks like layers/rows of dirt that the wind shouldn't leave alone.

 

[OAQfirst]

This pic at Wiki: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Racetrack_Playa_(Pirate_Scott).jpg

The debris under the rock in the front looks like it was wet. I wonder what the dynamics are as the rain brings water down the mountains and "creeps" along the dried ground. Does the ground swell along the line of the water, pushing the rock along? Look at the cracks in the ground, how they are spaced.

 

[Equate]

Looking at some pics at the Wikipedia article, wouldn't the 90mph winds eliminate the trails? Looks like layers/rows of dirt that the wind shouldn't leave alone.

That was one of my first thoughts.

Unless there really is some "sliding ice thingie" going on and the rocks are heavy enough to leave an impression in the sands through the ice. ?? Ice melts, winds die down - no erosion of the tracks.

 

[Equate]

The debris under the rock in the front looks like it was wet.

It sure does look as if there is water involved in the process. I don't know, but does the Playa have an incline? That definitely would help the movement of rocks under wet conditions.

 

[OAQfirst]

It sure does look as if there is water involved in the process. I don't know, but does the Playa have an incline? That definitely would help the movement of rocks under wet conditions.

If the ground is swelling as it saturates, as I suggested by water off the mountains, it might not need an incline. Thermal variation might contribute. That would also help explain the changes of direction which might be affected by how and where the ground is soaking up the water.

 

[DaveC426913]

The sailing stones are most likely moved by strong winter winds (up to 90 mph), once it has rained enough to fill the playa with just enough water to make the clay slippery. The prevailing winds across Racetrack Playa travel blow from southwest to northeast. Most of the rock trails are parallel to this direction, lending support to this hypothesis.

I did not know that this mystery was still up in the air. I had thought it was generally concluded that the winds were responsible for both pushing the rocks and providing a vibration which was capable of lowering the static friction - the same vibration that makes the sounds.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I did not know that this mystery was still up in the air. I had thought it was generally concluded that the winds were responsible for both pushing the rocks and providing a vibration which was capable of lowering the static friction - the same vibration that makes the sounds.

If this only happens when excessively high winds are present, it might explain why the process has never been documented, which is the problem. I think there is also a bit of a mystery in explaining the varied paths of the stones.

 

[DaveC426913]

I think there is also a bit of a mystery in explaining the varied paths of the stones.

I would have thought so before I moored my boat this summer. Now, I see that the wind changes constantly, even turning through 360 degrees.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

I think there is also a bit of a mystery in explaining the varied paths of the stones.

... with respect to each other.

 

[DaveC426913]

... with respect to each other.

Right.

Then I guess then it's a matter of how fast the stones make their journey and how fast the tracks disappear. Because if the tracks last for any length of time then I don't see the problem - the intersecting paths do not intersect at all if you factor in passage of time as a dimension.

 

[HiDesert]

Some of these rocks are reported to weigh several hundred pounds. There are winds that can moved cars/destroy houses, but it seems to me that such winds would also erode the tracks. Also, if wind were the causative agent, I'd think some of the tracks would show evidence of tumbling, not just sliding. The descriptions always say that it looks like the rocks have slid, never rolled or tumbled.

I think one well sited, high resolution camera would do the job. It would have to be up on the heights around the playa (better point of view, and easier to hide to prevent tampering). Multiple cameras would be even better of course, but even one would add tremendously to our knowledge of this phenomenon.

 

[Phrak]

Mud as a lubricant

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drilling_fluid"

Has anyone tried throwing clay pots? The right sort of mud and a little water is very slick.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaolin"

I looked around but didn't find them. How do the coefficients of friction of wet and dry mud compare?


The rocks with crossing paths can be explained. During a particular wind storm a rock will break loose from static friction and be blown until it gets stuck, perhaps deep enough that it will not move again under similar winds. In another season and a different wind direction other rocks will break loose.

...DaveC, it looks like I've repeated you, but far wordier.

 

[matthyaouw]

I wonder if wet mud would erode in the wind. Clays are very cohesive and because of this they can take nearly as much flow velocity to move as boulders. Check out a Hjulstrom curve

 

[Ivan Seeking]

From the .gov link in the op

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/3773/racetrackplaya.jpg

 

[Phrak]

I wonder if wet mud would erode in the wind. Clays are very cohesive and because of this they can take nearly as much flow velocity to move as boulders. Check out a Hjulstrom curve

I couldn't understand your point at first. Dried, the clay would bond to a stone quite tightly, right? But if enough water desolved the bonds between clay and rock, it could break loose under a gust of wind, then continue under lighter winds, which is pretty much consistant with the extract that Ivan posted.

On top of that, the place should be an excellent site for mud sailing in the right weather.

 

[Phrak]

http://sfgirl-thealiennextdoor.blogspot.com/2008/08/sailing-racetrack-playa-of-death-valley.html"

During periods of heavy rain, water washes down from the nearby mountain slopes onto the playa and form a shallow short-lived lake. Soon, the thin veneer of water evaporates and leaves behind a layer of soft gooey slippery mud. As it dries the mud shrinks and cracks into a mosaic of interlocking polygons.

Forget the rocks. What did the rocks do? I'd like a close up view of the ridges left on either side of a rock. Does they look like plowed furrows or dried muddy ridges, or something inbetween?

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Two random photos selected

 

[Phrak]

Two random photos selected

I'll bet we're not going to get better close-ups than those. #1 is the best of the two. I'd like to get in real close and look evidence of water softening on the edges of the cracked clay.

Either way it could be inconclusive, unless one could tell the difference between water softening and wind errosion without experimentation. Who wants to grab and test some samples?

 

[OAQfirst]

I'll bet we're not going to get better close-ups than those. #1 is the best of the two. I'd like to get in real close and look evidence of water softening on the edges of the cracked clay.

Either way it could be inconclusive, unless one could tell the difference between water softening and wind errosion without experimentation. Who wants to grab and test some samples?

It's 1,600 × 1,067 pixels at Wikipedia.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Racetrack_Playa_(Pirate_Scott).jpg

 

[Phrak]

It's 1,600 × 1,067 pixels at Wikipedia.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Racetrack_Playa_(Pirate_Scott).jpg

Thanks, OAQ. But still not enough to reveal the shapes of the pieces of the ridges of Earth left behind --though the visible ridge is certainly not a monolithic trail of solidified mud.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Here is a paper from the folks at Cal Tech
http://www.jstor.org/pss/30068068

 

[pallidin]

This is just a thought, but I think I might know what's happening here.

First, let's examine this statement from http://geology.com/articles/racetrack-playa-sliding-rocks.shtml
----------------------------

The climate in this area is arid. It rains just a couple of inches per year. However, when it rains, the steep mountains which surround Racetrack Playa produce a large amount of runoff that converts the playa floor into a broad shallow lake. When wet, the surface of the playa is transformed into a very soft and very slippery mud.

----------------------------

Now, and here is what I believe might be the key: The surface prior to water saturation is cracked. Relatively deep cracks and many of them.

When water falls on top, air is trapped in the cracks. During contraction of those cracks by virtue of the water, this scenario would likely cause the formation of massive amounts of tiny, practically imperceivable bubbles rising to the surface and underneath any large rock.

Then, with this bubbling "cushion", other external forces moves the rock.

Anyway, that's my hypothesis.

 

[Phrak]

But what is the coefficient of friction of a rock on tiled clay surface, lubricated by a layer of mud?

 

[pallidin]

Phrak, I understand what you are saying. Which is why it's so puzzling.
However, let's consider the following(these are my presumptions, not saying that they are correct):

1) There is a presumption that this phenomenon is not a "prank"

2) There is a further presumption that this phenomenon is specific to that location, specific to the geology and topology of that location, and specific to the unique, sometimes transient extreme environmental conditions at that location.

So, my summary presumption is that the phenomenon is real, but that the natural mechanism behind it is based on complex factors which must come together in some unique way to achieve this.

As such, when addressing issues such as the coefficient of friction, I am looking at what complex natural forces might play a role.
Thus my hypothesis that trapped air/rising bubbles from the cracked surface during a rainstorm might be a key contributing factor mitigating friction.

Even still, it's just my thoughts.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

1) There is a presumption that this phenomenon is not a "prank"

I think the notion of a prank was ruled out about fifty years ago. IIRC, the phenomenon has been noted for about a century now. Also, we are talking about death valley, which is remote, desolate, and where it was about 120 degrees yesterday, as is usually the case.

Back when this was first discovered, which is cited as being around the turn of the century, Death Valley was about as remote of a place as one could find.

 

[pallidin]

I think the notion of a prank was ruled out about fifty years ago. IIRC, the phenomenon has been noted for about a century now. Also, we are talking about death valley, which is remote, desolate, and where it was about 120 degrees yesterday, as is usually the case.

Back when this was first discovered, which is cited as being around the turn of the century, Death Valley was about as remote of a place as one could find.

OK, that was my presumption. What about my hypothesis??

 

[Ivan Seeking]

OK, that was my presumption. What about my hypothesis??

The bubbles? It sounds to me like a reasonable idea, but I'm not a geologist. I can certainly imagine that something like you suggest might be possible at least in principle.

Ever played air hockey?

 

[pallidin]

Ever played air hockey?

Exactly, that's what I'm getting at.


Edit: Sorry for all the edits... late night.

 

[runner_one]

Hello all, I'm new here and thought I might jump in here and let you all know I visited the racetrack this week and have some good photos of the stones and trails. If anyone is interested here is a link to them (no ads) http://www.coleskingdom.com/photos/album.php?dir_name=racetrack I will upload more later.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

Hello all, I'm new here and thought I might jump in here and let you all know I visited the racetrack this week and have some good photos of the stones and trails. If anyone is interested here is a link to them (no ads) http://www.coleskingdom.com/photos/album.php?dir_name=racetrack I will upload more later.

Cool! Was this trip motivated by casual or professional interests?

Were you left with any particular impressions wrt the mechanism?

 

[runner_one]

Cool! Was this trip motivated by casual or professional interests?

Were you left with any particular impressions wrt the mechanism?

More Casual, although I have been fascinated by the racetrack ever since I first learned of it years ago. This was my fist visit there and we spent the night. The road there seems designed to destroy any vehicle short of a ATV, I suspect the park service keeps it that way to deter more visitors who might damage or move the rocks. as for the rocks themselves, I came away more perplexed than ever, although the wind is thought by most to be the prime mover I found some problems with this theory first look at this rock http://runner.coleskingdom.com/pics/racetrack/large/Dsci0123.jpg" All in all it was a fascinating trip.

 

[Ivan Seeking]

What would you estimate to be the depth of the tracks left behind? Does this tend to vary according to the size [weight] of the rock?