--- title: Solved: The Case of the Sailing Stones in Death Valley National Park description: A group of scientists say they've figured out how the stones move seemingly on their own canonical: https://time.com/3210582/sailing-stones-death-valley-solved/ author: Noah Rayman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-28T20:46:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T09:55:19.024Z article:section: Science og:title: Solved: The Case of the Sailing Stones in Death Valley National Park og:description: A group of scientists say they've figured out how the stones move seemingly on their own og:url: https://time.com/3210582/sailing-stones-death-valley-solved/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13053af5fa43ca18/6986a163f983e759eb04f6e3/128570048.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 5000 og:image:height: 2813 og:image:alt: 128570048 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Solved: The Case of the Sailing Stones in Death Valley National Park twitter:description: A group of scientists say they've figured out how the stones move seemingly on their own twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13053af5fa43ca18/6986a163f983e759eb04f6e3/128570048.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Solved: Mystery of Moving Stones in Death Valley > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Noah Rayman](https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Aug 28, 2014 8:46 PM UTC  A sailing stone in Racetrack playa, Death Valley, in California A sailing stone in Racetrack playa, Death Valley, in California Mark Newman—Getty Images  by [Noah Rayman](https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Aug 28, 2014 8:46 PM UTC So-called sailing stones in California’s Death Valley National Park have perplexed tourists and scientists alike for their apparent ability to move on their own, leaving sometimes meter-long tracks in their wake. But after years of speculation, [researchers with patience](http://phys.org/news/2014-08-mystery-stones-death-valley-action.html), remote weather monitors, cameras, and stones that are fitted with GPS say they have discovered the force behind the phenomenon. Wind (very strong winds) and ice (very thick ice) have long been considered as possible explanations for why the rocks, sometimes weighing hundreds of pounds, move. It’s actually a combination of a little of both, the team of researchers say in their study,[ published in the journal _PLOS One_ this week](http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0105948). Rainwater in what is known as the Racetrack Playa creates a shallow pond over the playa that, in cold winter temperatures, freezes over. When the ice begins to melt under the sun, it first breaks up into large panels thin enough that, with a nudge from even light winds, they shift — and push whatever rocks may lie in their path. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3210582/sailing-stones-death-valley-solved/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3210582/sailing-stones-death-valley-solved/"},"headline":"Solved: Mystery of Moving Stones in Death Valley","datePublished":"2014-08-28T20:46:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:55:19.024Z","description":"A group of scientists say they've figured out how the \"sailing stones\" glide along the desert floor on their own","url":"https://time.com/3210582/sailing-stones-death-valley-solved/","keywords":["Environment","California"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13053af5fa43ca18/6986a163f983e759eb04f6e3/128570048.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt13053af5fa43ca18/6986a163f983e759eb04f6e3/128570048.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"128570048","caption":"A sailing stone in Racetrack playa, Death Valley, CA.","creditText":"Mark Newman—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/environment/","name":"Environment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3210582/sailing-stones-death-valley-solved/","name":"Solved: Mystery of Moving Stones in Death Valley"}}]}] ```