
View larger. | Sliding stone in Death Valley National Park by Cat Connor. These stones really do move.
The movement of Death Valley’s sliding stones across what is called Racetrack Playa, or just the Racetrack – and the stones’ long tracks across the desert floor – are an old mystery that’s now been solved. These stones clearly do move, but, until the past few years, no one knew what caused their movement. Want to know the secret? Click here to find out, and see a video of the sliding stones in motion.

Sliding stone tracks in the Death Valley desert floor, via the journal PLOS ONE.
Bottom line: Photo of a famous Death Valley sliding stone, under a beautiful sky at Death Valley’s famous Racetrack Playa, by Cat Connor.