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Mystery Lab / Observation & interpretation

From Rock Tracks to Moving Rocks

Scrub an invented path, then explore a sequence that adds water, ice and wind. Notice what a track alone leaves out.

Observation & interpretation · two guided observations

What is missing from a trail behind a stone?

Long trails remain behind stones at Racetrack Playa in Death Valley. Researchers recorded motion and surrounding conditions, observing thin wind-driven ice panels pushing stones.

This activity uses original drawings. First scrub a scene that shows only positions and a path. Then explore an explanatory sequence that adds water, ice and wind.

First compare the stone’s position and its path. Next move through the condition sequence and notice what is added when an ice panel pushes the stone.

Know someone who would enjoy this?

Continue with the story and its records

Explore how the difference you noticed connects with the surviving records of the historical story.

Read the moving-rock story
Open the source

Sources and scope

We consulted the National Park Service, the research team’s account and the original 2014 paper. These sources partly describe the same observational study; they are not three independent experiments. Follow the source links for field photographs and footage.

  1. 01
    The Racetrack US National Park Service · Death Valley National Park · Checked 2026-10-22
  2. 02
  3. 03
    Mystery Solved: “Sailing Stones” of Death Valley Seen in Action for the First Time Scripps Institution of Oceanography · UC San Diego · Checked 2026-10-22

The text and diagrams are original. Rock shapes, paths and the scene sequence are invented examples. The lab does not calculate or present measured water depth, ice thickness, wind speed or rock speed, nor does it establish an equally complete explanation for every older trail.