Moving stones are a natural phenomenon. Moving stones - a natural phenomenon Movement of stones in the valley of death

There are plenty of mysterious places on the planet. Scientists do not have time to find logical explanations for their phenomena. Likewise, moving stones from Death Valley in California seem to be obvious facts, but there is no documented evidence.

Phenomenon

Mysterious stones are located at the bottom of the dried-up lake Racetrack Playa, which is surrounded by mountain ranges. Rare showers allow it to partially fill with water. It flows down the slopes, but does not linger for long. The sun and harsh winds quickly dry out the moisture. Clay soil cracks.

Stones of different sizes are randomly scattered along the bottom. Periodically they change location, spontaneously moving across the soil and leaving characteristic furrows in it that cannot be confused with anything else. The direction of movement of the stones is different. That is, they move completely unpredictably. Some blocks may move in parallel for some time, then suddenly change their vector to the side, backward, or even turn over. How everything happens, why they begin to move and why they stop is not known for certain.

Many people wonder why the stones in Death Valley move. Some come to look at them to unravel the mystery, suspecting a trick, others are confident in the mystical nature of these phenomena. There are also those who try to ride on boulders. There are known cases of missing stones - there is a groove on the surface of the lake bottom, but the cobblestone itself is no longer there.

Terrain

The Valley of Moving Stones is located in California. This place is considered one of the driest on the planet. Among other things, the valley has the deepest land depression in the Western Hemisphere (86 meters below sea level).

The maximum temperature (57 ºC) was recorded in 1913. Nowadays in the summer in the valley it is over 40 ºC, in winter - on average just above zero. The valley is surrounded by mountain ranges. Scientists suggest that they are still rising from the depths of the earth, while the plateau is descending. Mountains do not allow air flows with life-giving moisture to pass through. But during the rainy season there are floods, and drying lakes form in the lowlands.

Ore was once mined in the valley. The settlers panned for gold, searched for silver, and built enterprises for processing borax. But climatic conditions did not allow serious production to be launched. People left, the towns around the mines became deserted.

History: Valley of the Moving Stones (California)

It is believed that a thousand years ago this territory and the whole were inhabited by the Timbisha. There are suggestions that their descendants still live in the vicinity of the valley. Then the climate in the region was not so harsh, and the Indians could survive by hunting and gathering. The tribes left and were replaced by others, but the stones remained.

The first settlers from Europe appeared in California with the beginning of the gold rush. There is information that in 1849, prospectors decided to drive through the territory of the current valley in order to shorten their path to the nearest gold mines. For several weeks they wandered around the plateau, looking for a way out. They had to endure serious trials, because they did not know about the harsh climate of the territory. When they crossed the Wingate Pass Mountains, the area they crossed was called Death Valley. Along the way, in order to survive, the miners had to look for water by digging up dry streams and feed on their pack animals.

Death Valley

The stones do not move everywhere and not all the time. But this does not stop travelers. Despite the harsh climate, the area received the status of a monument of national importance in 1933. Once upon a time people came there for the healing springs. Later, after the abandonment of the mining towns, tourists came to look at abandoned mines, houses, streets, and neighborhoods.

Now the valley is a large-scale tourist complex. The park's area is more than 13,000 square kilometers. People come there to admire the amazing landscapes. In addition to the valley with moving stones and amazing mountains, those interested can see the crater of the Ubehebe volcano, visit the lowest point of the Western Hemisphere - the Badwater salt lake, admire the views from the Zabryski Point observation deck, visit the Artist's Palette and the famous Scotty's Castle.

Tourism

Death Valley Park (America, California) is considered the largest in the region. The service and infrastructure there are organized at a high level. For those who want to enjoy the amazing scenery, there is the opportunity to stay in one of the hotels or choose a campsite with guest houses. Routes, tracks and paths are laid out and thought out for the convenience of tourists in such a way as to maximize the beauty of the surrounding places.

The park consists of two valleys surrounded by mountain systems. Significant are Telescope Mountain and Dantez View. The most visited part of the valley is Furnes Creek. To make the journey easier, you can ride a horse. This will allow you not to be distracted by the difficulties of the transition and focus on the landscape: snowy peaks, rocks, canyons, salty plateaus, lakes.

For those who like to tickle their nerves, there is a route to the abandoned Riolight - a “city of ghosts” abandoned by prospectors almost a hundred years ago. The crater of the Ubehebe volcano, which died out seven thousand years ago, is almost a kilometer wide and 200 m deep and also attracts attention, as do the “crawling” stones at the bottom of Lake Racetrack Playa.

Facts

Are there moving rocks anywhere else on the planet? unique in its own way. However, information about such movements came at different times and from other places on the planet. The history of the Blue Stone and its Far Eastern brother is known. Near Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan and in the foothills of Alatau there are crawling cobblestones. In Tibet, the Buddha Stone, weighing more than a ton, has been moving up and down in a spiral for fifteen hundred years.

What happens at the bottom of Racetrack Playa Lake? This flat area is located at an altitude of more than one kilometer above sea level. The bottom of the lake, with a length of 4.5 km and a width of 2.2 km, has a slope of only 1-2 cm per kilometer. Cobblestones are scattered randomly in this area. The vast majority of them rolled down from the dolomite hills. All stones are of different sizes and weights (up to several hundred kilograms).

It has been established that these blocks move along the surface. The actual movement was not recorded on video. However, there is no doubt that they “travel” without human help. It is impossible to determine or predict the onset of movement. Cobblestones “come to life” every few years. If you're lucky, you can see positions updated every year. It was not possible to reliably determine what the movements are associated with, but it was noted that their activity mainly manifests itself in winter.

Traces

Moving stones leave grooves on the surface of the lake bottom. In most cases they remain visible for several years. The depth of the mark reaches 2.5 cm with a width of up to 30 cm in massive specimens.

Evidence suggests that the mass and size of “crawling” dolomite rock fragments are not significant. Both five-hundred-gram specimens and blocks weighing over three hundred kilograms moved.

During active research, during one period of activity, a six-centimeter (diameter) pebble traveled the maximum distance. He "crawled" more than 200 meters. The most massive specimen that showed activity during the same period weighed 36 kg.

The Valley of Death is not spared by myths about aliens and the tricks of evil spirits. Since the beginning of research into the phenomenon, hypotheses have been put forward about seismic activity in the region and the impact of complex geomagnetic fields.

In general, there is room for imagination. Anyone can choose a suitable theory as a basis and try to prove or disprove it after a visit to the valley. The mystery that is still present attracts not only tourist travelers, but also scientists to these places. It is believed that the area where such phenomena occur is part of and there are always enough supporters to tickle their nerves.

Official version

Until recently, it was believed that moving rocks were the result of a unique combination and interaction of clay soil, water, wind and ice. It was not possible to establish which of the elements plays a decisive role and which plays an auxiliary role.

Presumably in winter, when the greatest physical activity occurs, the soil of the lake bottom is in a wet state due to the presence of precipitation during this period. Soaked clay soil has low slip. Frost on the surface of stones and temperature changes also affect sliding.

Gusts of wind, which sometimes reach high speeds and have turbulence similar to the effect of a tornado, can trigger the onset of movement. The unevenness, chaotic directions of vectors, as well as the unpredictability of the onset of activity may be a consequence of the unique coincidence of humidity and temperature conditions.

Research

The study of the geological phenomenon began seriously in the middle of the last century. Expeditions went to the valley, set up tent camps, conducted long-term observations, tests and experiments, but they were unable to record the movements of the stones.

A number of questions arose: “Why don’t the stones cluster together and concentrate closer to one of the shores of the dry lake? Why do they move rarely and just when there is not a single witness with a camera nearby?” Nevertheless, there were no serious prerequisites for falsifying the traces of movement.

Thomas Clement witnessed severe bad weather back in the winter of 1952. He watched the stones for a long time, but one night he was forced to take shelter from bad weather in a tent. The next morning he discovered fresh furrows and assumed that the reason was wind, water and soil soaked from streams.

Since 1972, Robert Sharp and Dwight Carey have been studying this unique phenomenon. They selected 30 stones for observation, weighed and measured the fragments, named them, and took readings of their locations for seven years. In 1995, the group of Professor John Reid studied the same problem.

At the end of the last century, moving stones even became the subject of a successfully defended dissertation. Geologist Paula Messina surveyed the area from 1993 to 1998 and mapped the locations of 160 rocks using GPS sensors. She also determined the composition of the rock fragments and discovered colonies of bacteria in a layer of clay at the bottom of the drying lake.

Reality

NASA specialists were also involved in studying the phenomenon. In 2010, under their leadership, a group of students studied the location of the geological phenomenon. They suggested the presence of a thin layer of ice that forms on the surface of the water during periods of activity. The same theory was proposed back in 1955 by George Stanley, assuring that the wind itself is not able to move massive rock fragments, but the ice crust around a stone frozen in water can increase the likelihood of movement.

How to explain this? In 2014, a theory was proposed proving the possibility of stones moving along the bottom of the lake. The conditions under which this phenomenon is possible were also described.

According to eyewitnesses, during a flood, a layer of water of about 7 cm is possible at the bottom of the lake. On frosty nights, a layer of ice forms on its surface. The sun and thaw destroy the formation. The formed ice floes are driven by the wind. If stones are reliably frozen in them, then a gust of wind can give such a formation the necessary acceleration. According to calculations, an ice crust with an area of ​​about 800 square meters can provide the necessary windage. After the water drains, a characteristic mark will remain at the bottom.

Most likely, most people will agree that in nature it is unlikely to find an object more lifeless and unshakable than a stone. However, if we take a closer look at the issue of stones, it turns out that they are far from so simple. According to recent research, stones are able to breathe, age, think and move. Let us dwell in more detail on moving stones.

Death Valley attracts the attention of scientists and extreme tourism enthusiasts from around the world for various reasons. But, first of all, every person who comes here wants to personally look at the stones lying at the bottom of the dried prehistoric lake Racetrack Playa. It would seem, what could be interesting in ordinary fragments of dolomite rock from the nearest hill? The point is that they are moving. It is interesting to note that no one has yet recorded how the movement of stones occurs. As a result, this mysterious phenomenon gave rise to a number of theories, according to which the following natural phenomena could give rise to the movement of stones:

It must be said that to date, none of the theories has completely satisfied the world scientific community. And the phenomenon of moving stones remains a mystery to this day.

Blue-stone, or the heart of a pagan god

Dead stone of Lake Bolon

Another famous erratic stone is located in the vicinity of Lake Bolon (Amur Region). Local residents call this boulder, weighing 1.5 tons, the Dead Stone. According to legend, it contains the spirit of Amba, an evil spirit. Previously, he helped shamans perform witchcraft, but now he simply travels, either going into the lake or returning to the surface.

Ancient Buddha Stone

There is a Northern Monastery in the mountains of Tibet. Its inhabitants have been observing the Buddha stone for 1,500 years, on which, according to legend, the Enlightened One left his palm prints. The age of this boulder weighing 1100 kg is estimated at 50 million years.

This stone rises along a spiral path up a mountain 2.5 km high, and then descends from it in the same way, making an additional circle near the foot. It takes a stone 60 years to go through a full cycle of movement.

King Arthur's Stone - the Wanderer from Wales

Great Britain also has its own legendary stone. We are talking about a huge boulder, weighing 25,000 kg, located in Wales. Without outside help, this stone sometimes unexpectedly ends up on the seashore, and then returns in the opposite direction. The local population believes that the stone sometimes wants to drink salty sea water.

In the east of California, a stone's throw from Los Angeles, lies a mystical US nature reserve with an eerie name - Death Valley. To the west rise the Telescope Peak mountain ranges. To the east stretch the Dantez View Mountains. In the south there are endless clay plains. For several centuries, this mysterious place has attracted the attention of numerous travelers, scientists and researchers in the field of geology and history. Artists are trying to capture this wild, unbridled beauty, impressive with the diversity of its natural landscapes.

A little history

In the 19th century, the Gold Rush broke out in America. Immigrants from all over the world flocked here in search of “countless treasures.” The path to the gold mines lay through a dismal, abandoned valley. Many remained here forever. Fleeing from hunger, people turned carts into firewood, lit fires and roasted horses and mules on them. Those few who survived called this terrible desert the Valley of Death. 30 years later, a borax deposit was discovered in the middle of the valley. Domestic mules were used to export the crystalline substance. Two large wagons and a barrel of water were attached to a heavy multi-ton cart. Several dozen mules were harnessed to the cart and hit the road. In 1906, the mine was closed and production ceased.

Wonderful Vision

Several thousand years ago, in the middle of the vast desert there was a large beautiful lake. Over time, it dried out, and salt deposits appeared in its place. If you look closely, you will notice that some of the salt crystals grow upward, thereby creating bizarre shapes and labyrinths. At noon, when the sun rises above the horizon, the crystals begin to make a terrible crackling sound. Nearby there is another salt valley called Bad Water. Its surface is covered with a thick snow-white mesh that looks like a huge cobweb. Under the rays of the sun, the spectacle created is indescribable. Something inexplicable has been going on in Death Valley for a long time, and to this day unknown. Large blocks of stone move by themselves along the bottom of a prehistoric lake. No one touches or moves them, but they still crawl, leaving behind a long trail. The surface of the valley is dry and rough all year round, this fact worries scientists even more. It’s interesting that no one has yet seen the crawling stones with their own eyes, and there is no video either. But there is no doubt - the boulders are moving. At the beginning of the 20th century, a version appeared about the existence of a certain magnetic field that is capable of moving stones. But the version was not proven or supported by anything, so it remained only a version.

The Legend of the Blue Stone

An ancient legend says: ... many years ago, a huge blue boulder was discovered near the village of Gorodishche, Pereslav-Zalessky district. The pagans believed that a spirit lived inside the stone, which was capable of fulfilling any desires. At the beginning of the 17th century, the church brought down all its wrath on the pagans. And by order of Deacon Anufry, the legendary stone was thrown into a deep ravine and covered with earth. A few years later, the residents were amazed - a boulder peeked out from under the ground. The church did not rest on this either; the stone was dug up again and they decided to lay it in the foundation of the bell tower. When it was transported across Lake Pleshcheyevo, the ice cracked and the boulder sank. Over time, local fishermen noticed that the stone was making inexplicable movements along the bottom. Moving slowly, he reached Yarilina Mountain, where he lies to this day. This legend is closely associated with the phenomenon occurring in Death Valley.

Theories and hypotheses

First theory

For many years, scientists around the world have puzzled over this mystical phenomenon. The first hypotheses were put forward in the mid-20th century. According to researchers, this anomalous phenomenon is associated with heavy rainfalls occurring in the valley. The earth becomes saturated with moisture, the surface turns into sliding mud, resulting in the movement of blocks. But since it rains very rarely here, the theory has not been confirmed.

Second theory

Another scientific hypothesis enjoyed wide popularity. Scientists assumed that the cause of this phenomenon was not only rain, but also strong wind. They argued that the boulders slide on wet clay under the influence of winds. There has been a lot of disagreement about this in scientific circles. For example, the American geologist George Stanley was sure that the blocks were too heavy and large for ordinary wind to handle.

Third theory

There was another interesting theory - scientists assumed that a thin ice crust was forming on the surface of the earth. Under the influence of the winds, the stone begins to slide along the valley, leaving behind a long trail. Like previous theories, this hypothesis was also not substantiated. To this day, scientists are struggling with this complex mystery. But no one has yet been able to solve it.

Sights of the Valley

Riolight Ghost Town

The first stop on the Death Valley tour is the ghost town of Riolight. Riolight is an old abandoned mining town, battered by time and natural disasters. Here, among the destroyed houses, you can see amazing sculptures. Previously, it was quite a lively town. Today, only a beer bar building remains in its place. Walking along the ruins, tourists are transported to the times of the Wild West, so distant and romantic.

Titus Canyon

The road to Titus Canyon begins right from Riolight. The path to it is confusing and difficult with a huge number of climbs and turns. First, tourists have to conquer the mountain ranges of the Grapevine, having overcome the White Pass, they find themselves at the Red Pass. Here the guides advise you to take a break. Next, the path lies through the ghost town of Lidfield - another deserted, dilapidated city. Only after this a breathtaking sight appears before the eyes of tourists in the form of Titus Canyon.

Scotty's Castle

Nestled north of Death Valley is the charming Spanish castle of Scotty. A tall Gothic structure that attracts attention with its carved turrets and patterned roof. It is protected by a high fortress wall and surrounded by magnificent green groves and lawns.

There are several cozy camping sites right in the middle of the valley. The large tourist center of Furnace Creek is located nearby. On its territory there are several shops, cafes, hotels and restaurants, an ATM, a post office and a gas station.

Moving stones are one of the biggest mysteries of science. They are located in Death Valley, a US National Park with an area of ​​about 13,800 km². Scattered over a vast area, boulders of different sizes tend to move, leaving grooves in the sand - traces of their movement.

Moving stones are one of the biggest mysteries of science

In the late 40s, geologists Jim McAllister and Allen Agnew made the first map of the location of boulders and their traces. Later, employees of the US National Park Service joined the process. After this, the information became available to readers of Life magazine, on the pages of which photographs of the boulders were posted along with facts about them known at that time.

For a long time, the study of the moving stones of Death Valley was the subject of pseudo-scientific speculation. Most hypotheses explained what was happening by the unusual behavior of the wind at the bottom of the dry lake Racetrack Playa.

In the mid-50s, geologist George Stanley, studying the phenomenon, came to the conclusion that the stones were too heavy to move with gusts of wind. The scientist suggested that during seasonal flooding of the lake, a layer of ice forms on its surface, facilitating the movement of stones.

If we do not take into account theories about the influence of supernatural forces and electromagnetism on boulders, then all concepts about crawling stones boiled down to the following 2 factors:

1. Slippery surface under a stone(dirt or ice). This is confirmed by the shape of the footprint. Crawling blocks leave behind grooves with clear edges, which means that the soil was initially soft and did not prevent sliding.
2. Wind pushing boulders.

At that time, there was a theory that stated that the air masses did not act on the blocks themselves, but on the pieces of ice that had grown on them. In this way, the stones appeared as kind of sails, and due to the increase in the area of ​​​​contact with the atmosphere, the boulders could move faster.

In addition, some scientists suggested that the cause of the phenomenon was an earthquake. But Death Valley is a quiet place in terms of seismic activity, which is why this idea was quickly rejected.

Research by Californian scientists

In the spring of 1972, Robert Sharp and Dwight Carey began a program to monitor boulder movements. For this purpose, 30 blocks with fresh traces were selected, each of which was given a name. The researchers used stakes to indicate their initial position. It took scientists about 7 years to formulate their theory. It was as follows:

1. During the rainy season, water accumulates in the southern part of Racetrack Playa.
2. The wind carries moisture along the bottom of a dry lake.
3. Clay soil gets very wet.
4. Since the friction force has decreased significantly, the wind blows away even the largest blocks weighing more than 300 kg.

This study also tested the idea that ice moves rocks. On winter nights, the temperature in the valley can sometimes be below zero. Then the water, driven by air masses, becomes covered with a layer of ice, into which the boulders freeze.

The Mystery of the Crawling Stones (video)

Scientists conducted an experiment: among the moving stones, one small one (about 0.5 kg) was selected, around which a pen of 1.7 x 1.7 m was built with a support distance of 65-75 cm. It was assumed that when sliding, the ice could catch on the fence, causing why the trajectory of movement will change. In the first winter, the stone moved 8.5 m, past the supports, which refuted the hypothesis. The following year, 2 large boulders were placed in the pen. It took one of them 5 years to move in the same direction as the stone from the first experiment. The second one remained in place.

In the first winter of research, only a third of the stones began to move, with one of the boulders named Mary Ann crawling almost 65 m. In subsequent years, others joined them. In just 7 years, out of 30 boulders, only 2 did not move. The smallest of the stones, Nancy, moved the maximum total distance - 262 m, of which it crawled 201 m in one season.

Gallery: stones of Death Valley (55 photos)

Dissertation by Paula Messina

In the early 90s, Paula Messina from the University of San Jose became interested in Death Valley. The researcher preferred to call the stones dancing. The phenomenon impressed the woman so much that she devoted her dissertation to atmospheric and geological phenomena at the bottom of Racetrack Playa.

In her work, Paula Messina used the capabilities of GPS, so the data she obtained was more accurate than that of previous researchers. Thanks to the tracking system, it was possible to observe the trajectory of movement with an accuracy of 2-5 cm.

It was found that the stones mostly crawled parallel. From this Messina concluded that ice had nothing to do with the process. After studying the trajectory of 162 blocks, the researcher came to the conclusion that neither their size nor shape affects sliding. At the same time, it was discovered that the change in the coordinates of the boulders depends on their original location at the bottom of Racetrack Playa.

Messina suggested that the air masses above the lake behave in a strange way. After the storm, 2 streams are formed, which is explained by the relief features of the mountains surrounding the lake. This leads to the fact that stones located in different areas move in opposite, often perpendicular, directions. In the center of Racetrack Playa, air currents collide and, twisting, form a tornado. Thus, moving from one part of the lake to another, the boulders are exposed to different winds each time. This can explain the fact that stones move along complex trajectories.

In 2014, one of the non-profit scientific publishing projects published a paper, the authors of which described in detail the traces of boulders. The researchers placed several stones weighing from 5 to 15 kg on the bottom of Racetrack Playa, before installing tracking sensors and cameras on them. During the experiment, it was possible to establish that the stones moved due to huge (several tens of meters in diameter) and very thin (up to 1 cm) areas of ice. Carried by the wind, the boulders slid at speeds of up to 5 m per minute.

The most mysterious stones of our planet (video)

Death Valley still attracts scientists. Science still has to answer a number of questions. For example, why do some boulders move great distances every winter while others remain in place for years? Can this be explained by the fact that the bottom of a dry lake is moistened unevenly? Also, recent studies have not yet explained why the valley is evenly covered with stones, whereas due to regular winds, the bulk of them should be concentrated along the perimeter of Racetrack Playa.

It is worth noting that Death Valley is not the only place where you can find moving boulders. A similar geological phenomenon is observed in southern Romania, as well as on the Moon and Mars.

Attention, TODAY only!

Despite the progress of science, high technology, human exploration of outer space, our planet keeps many secrets that have not been revealed by earthly civilization. The mysteries of nature are sometimes so bizarre that they seem like real mysticism. A person will have to repeatedly encounter amazing phenomena, very often inexplicable by any physical process known to science today.

"" located in, quite a famous area, declared a National Nature Reserve. The territory deserves its name with good reason. The valley is famous for its climate, arid and hot. The maximum air temperature recorded in this area is about 57 degrees Celsius above zero. In fact, nowhere in the world, when measuring air temperature under natural conditions, did the thermometer rise above this mark. At the moment, this record belongs to California's Death Valley.

The valley is famous not only for its high temperatures. The phenomenon of “Moving Stones” or Racetrack Stones is quite widely known in the world. The unique phenomenon is very curious: stones of different shapes and weights move without any outside intervention along the bottom of a dry lake. As a result of movement, clearly visible traces remain on the ground, stretching for tens of meters behind the “walkers”. The weight of the stones varies, ranging from a few kilograms to boulders weighing several hundred kilograms. It is noteworthy that the stones have a characteristic “gait”. Some glide smoothly, while others “yaw” from side to side. There are even stones that manage to turn over on the other side. Direct movement occurs once every two or three years, however, the process of movement itself has never been recorded by technical means.

Moving stones are a geological phenomenon. These stones can be seen on the dried-up lake Racetrack Playa in Death Valley, USA.

Why do the stones move?

The main assumptions of the researchers are based on the features of the terrain and the associated vortex flows. At first glance, there is a rational grain in this, but in this version some inconsistencies arise. If the cause of movement is the wind, then why do nearby stones creep in different directions, and some remain in their places altogether. Air currents have a certain regularity and, in all likelihood, would tend to move the stone “travelers” to one place, but the stones are scattered across the entire area of ​​​​the bottom of the dry lake.

Despite the research, science cannot give a clear answer as to what may be causing the anomalous phenomenon. While researchers try to uncover the mystery, the stone walkers continue on their way to the goal of their journey known only to them.

Photos