Many of the stones on Death Valley’s playa floor have trails behind them as if they’ve been pushed to where they’re standing. Nobody’s ever seen them move though and there’s no sign as to what did it.

Many of the stones on Death Valley’s playa floor have trails behind them as if they’ve been pushed to where they’re standing. Nobody’s ever seen them move, though, and there’s no sign as to what did it.

How it is that Death Valley’s sailing stones seem to have the power of self-propulsion has been a mystery for ages. Adding to the curiosity is that some weigh near 700 pounds.

There is many a theory about the traveling stones including a few that involve aliens.

Ice was the most popular idea for quite some time, and the guess was that the stones got trapped in it and the whole sheet moved, rock and all.

What really happens is that the rock does indeed get frozen in the ice, but eventually the ice on the outer edges melts. The lightened stone and ice combo are then pushed effortlessly along by the wind, leaving a furrow behind them.

Death Valley is infamous for being the hottest, driest place in North America, but it can get plenty cold, too. According to record, it’s dipped as low as 15 degrees Fahrenheit.