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Racetrack Playa

No Death Valley trip would be complete without a visit to the sliding rocks on the Racetrack Playa. That being said, a vast majority of visitors to the park ne...
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No Death Valley trip would be complete without a visit to the sliding rocks on the Racetrack Playa. That being said, a vast majority of visitors to the park never make the trip, due to a length drive on a gravel road. I heard lots of terrible things about the road - flat tires, break downs, wrecks, etc., but the actual road was no where near as bad as the descriptions I read. I'm actually confident that my Honda Accord could have made it (we rented a high clearance SUV). The worst part of the road was the washboard surface in places, which when taken slowly is uncomfortable but not a serious threat.

The Racetrack playa itself has the consistency of concrete when it's dry; when it's wet, you shouldn't walk on it! You'll be the idiot that leaves footprints that last for decades - don't be that idiot! The lakebed itself is actually a basin - streams "flow" into it, but nothing leaves (much like Death Valley proper). I use the word 'flow' loosely, since the area is actually incredible dry. Many others described the playa as mysterious. There's lots of mysteries in Death Valley still, but the sliding rocks aren't one of them anymore, due to new research and actual observations (http:--www.plosone.org-article-fetchObject.action?uri=info:doi-10.1371-journal.pone.0105948&representation=PDF).

Following significant rain, 2 - 3 inches of water collect on the playa. When this temporary lake freezes, the rocks become trapped in the ice. Warming temperatures cause the ice sheet to fracture, and the wind blows the ice around The trapped rocks then inscribe their trails into the mud. A pretty cool phenomenon, in a pretty amazing national park!
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