Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Rock Race

You may have noticed animal tracks in the sand, but have you ever seen boulder tracks? If you ever go to 
the Racetrack in Death Valley this is exactly what you will see. Rocks at the race track seem to move without any help at all. 
1. No one has ever seen a rock move at the Race track. What evidence do you have that these rocks are 
moving with out human interference?
2.  Develop and post a theory that explains the mysterious movements at the Racetrack. 
Please be : safe polite respectful productive and responsible with your post.

113 comments:

Kyle M1 said...

I think that gravity is pulling them down a small slope.

They also could be pushed by the wind.

Kyle M2 said...

Because the rocks have moving trails behind them. The ground under the rocks is slanted and if the ground moves the rocks slide.

jasmine M. said...

#1: Because there are no human feet or knee tracks on the ground
#2: It could have happened with a little rock slide and animal could have bumped it

Jewel C said...

the evidence is that theres no human shoe or feet print.

Maybe its is really windy there and it moves the rocks

Anonymous said...

Gavin Lego

Gravity and a little bit of wind may be pushing the rocks because it may be a slight slop, and you cant tell that humans cant of moved them because there's no footprints.

JordanF said...

1. there is a track behind them
2. wind

SammyG said...

1. the rocks are moving because of the wind, and i know that because there are no other tracks around it.
2. the rocks are formed and then the strong winds of the desert cause the rocks to move, thats how they move.

Brian B said...

The evidence is that there are no human prints. Also you can see the track of the rock across the sand.The theory is that the land might of shifted at one point and the rocks slid down the sand.

Collin.S said...

1.the tracks in the sand
2.they are moving downhill

Serena M said...

1.there is no foot prints on the ground
2. it is because of wind!!!!

Aleha C said...

On the tracks there would be foot prints but there isn't.
well if its on a hill i could of rolled or mabey high wind maybe.

Dominique F. said...

i think maybe the wind is pulling them also maybe a small slope is under them.
My theroy is gravitational pull.

kaylee m. said...

1. They leave tracks behind them.

2.It could move by a gravitational pull.

Nate B. said...

1. Tracks are behind them

2. Wind

emile w said...

I read in the science book that these rock are made of light weight rock. The smoothish surface of the desert has and the strong wind gusts cause the rocks to move

alexander p said...

1. Well there are no animal or human tracks to move it. 2.The wind could have moved it or gravity might have pushed it.

Rand N. said...

That the people would have to have a type of transportation and there would be truck tracks close to the rocks. That the rocks were on top of the high ground and the wind blew it so that the rocks fell down the slope and it would move and the rocks with wind still pushing.

Alexis F. said...

1. I think that maybe there is a strong bug that is making them move.
2. that a bug is pushing the rock with its back legs.

Nicole c. said...

1. I think that the wind from the person running could of made the rock move as they were running by.
2. I think it could of happened with a little rock slide, or since we have little earthquakes. Earthquakes that we cannot feel. They could of moved the rock too.

molly m said...

1.The wind force is moving the rocks across the sand.
2.Studies suggest that the rocks are moving by a combination of 90mph winds,ice formations at night and thin layers of clay on the surface of the desert.That's 1 theory of how the rocks move.

Rhiannon J said...

The evidence you have is there any foot prints.

Maybe an earthquake moved them.

tyla g said...

i think that u cant really see boulder tracks but u can no what happened cause' there will be a trail behind the rocks.The wind could have blown the rocks away.

Kiyah said...... said...

Because the the wind forces the rocks across the sand.

Anonymous said...

Their are no foot prints on the ground


the wind could move them

Dale Said....... said...

1.The wind force is moving the rocks across the sand.
2.Studies suggest that the rocks are moving by a combination of 90mph winds,ice formations at night and thin layers of clay on the surface of the desert.That's 1 theory of how the rocks move.

NICK P said...

wind

tyla g said...

the wind can blow the rocks to a point with a trail behind.

cam.l said...

there are no human foot prints and only a track behind the rock

Julia M said...

1. There are rock prints
2. WInd is moving these rocks because, they have dust storms and such.

Gail L(: said...

The wind might be able to move rocks. There are no footprints around the rocks so no people moved them.

Stephen F said...

there wouldve been animal or human tracks so they could of been moved by something else

Maddi H said...

I know there isn't any humans moving the rocks because there aren't any human footprints in the pictures and nobody could survive in death valley.

kyle L said...

1.The wind force is moving the rocks across the sand.
2.Studies suggest that the rocks are moving by a combination of 90mph winds,ice formations at night and thin layers of clay on the surface of the desert.That's 1 theory of how the rocks move.

cam.l said...

i think it is the wind

Sabrina D said...

1. The evidence is that because there are no foot prints.
2. It could have been wind or because a type of weather.

Emily G. said...

1- There is no human or animal tracks behind them.
2- Wind, or gravity might have been pushing them.

Emily W said...

1.I think that the rock is getting moved by the winds force and the rock isn't strong enough.
2.I think that there was a rockslide and it is getting moved by ice and wind.

Anonymous said...

WWWWWWWWinDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Skye W said...

The wind is the reason that the rocks move because in the death vally there is wind gusts that go very fast.

Dale Said....... said...

It could be a person but they get rid of all of the footsteps......

Bayli L. said...

1.The tracks the rocks leave behind
2.Gravitational pull

Juila M said...

I saw a picture of a rock going up a hill :D

Jake T. said...

1. I think the wind is forcing the rocks to move.

SoPhIaA. said...

The climate in this area is arid. It rains just a couple of inches per year. However, when it rains, the steep mountains which surround Racetrack Playa produce a large amount of runoff that converts the playa floor into a broad shallow lake. When wet, the surface of the playa is transformed into a very soft and very slippery mud. Im smart yayyyy.

Dillon M said...

the wind is moving from the force of the wind and if its a down hill slope gravity will help

Connor P said...

I believe that over many years gravity has pulled the rocks down a slow slope with wind ivolved

Jared {~Jarebear~} C said...

Well, I just kinda looked at it and i decided the rocks are enchanted! Call CSI, quick!

Seriously though, the extreme winds in the desert are probably pushing the rocks.

Gracie N(: said...

1. There are no human shoe or foot prints.

2. Maybe the wind is really strong.

Lucas T said...

My evidence that there have been 0 humans is that there aren't any foot prints near the moving rocks.


My theory is that wind and gravity work together to move the rocks little distances at a time.

Aaron R said...

the rocks are probably moving because of gravity. the tracks are probably on a slope but you can't tell because of the angle of the picture. there is now way to tell if these tracks were made by rocks tough because there is no proof.

Holly J said...

The evidence of the rocks moving with human interference is that there are little trails behind them. If the wind is blowing hard enough it could blow the rocks across the ground.

Mason B said...

I think a group of ants or other types of insects didn't like where a certain rock was and all got underneath it together and lifted it up and carried it away.

Tanner M said...

there is a trail behind the rock.

and i think there is a slight slope and gravity is forcing it down and also wind gusts may be the cause.

sarah m said...

I think that they move by the wind pushes them because there is nothing to hold the wind back so it probably goes fast enough to push a rock.

Grace B said...

1. there are no foot prints, or other tracks like that

2. Gravity could be pulling them in that direction, or maybe there's a slope

Nick M said...

1. The rocks are most likely being blown around by the wind. The evidence is the sand trail behind them. Also the trails behind them have small ridges in them, so it looks like they might have been rolling.
2. Wind has been known to be strong enough to blow down houses and carry things like cars and people, so what's most likely happened is that the wind has blown it, but is not strong enough to lift them.

Liz N. said...

Sometimes large dust particles pick up loose material and transports it to other places these are dust storms and they would happen in the dessert this does not involve human interference.. obviosley

Aaron R said...

the wind is also contributing...probably

Ian C said...

The evidence that these rocks are moving without human interferance is that the rocks all have trails of depressions in the rocks below it.

My theory is kind-of like glaciers, the pressure builds underneath the rock and makes water and makes it slide, leaving depressions in the rocks below it almost like glaciers

Cameron T. said...

1. Some signs of no human interference is that there is no foot prints or signs if life.If a human moved it than there wouldn`t be a trail.

2. It was probably moved by the wind and by gravity.

Nick M said...

1. There are no human footprints near them, and there are no other trails of any other objects.

2. I think the rocks are being blown around by the wind. I noticed that one rock is on a curved trail, but there is nothing behind it, and wind blows in multiple directions, so it is most likely wind.

matt c said...

i think that they are on a slight hill then wind and gravity started pulling the rocks down the hill

Archer t said...

1. Well, for starters no one would just slowly move each and every rock a millimeter every night, and there's no footprints.
2.I have a theory that the during rain the Racetrack becomes slick mud and the rocks can slip across the Racetrack, leaving a trail.

Liz N. said...

I don't think there would be a slope in a flat racetrack "Grace B."

Bearor, Kathryn E. said...

There are no footprints. No sign. All you have is a trail. What do you think happened?
I think that wind and gravity play rolls in moving these rocks. I think that there is a slight slope and some wind. With these factors a little rock can move a little bit.

Aaron R said...

there is no evidence of humans in the pic. but that's just the picture.

Kasey G. said...

1. There are no foot prints near the tracks. Also, they were dragged along in a very steady path. If a human had dragged the rocks, the track wouldn't appear to be so steady. It would be slightly jagged.

2. I believe that the wind is what's moving the rocks. The wind isn't blowing very hard causing the rocks to move in a very slow pace causing the illusion of stillness when their actually moving. An example of this is continents. The continents are moving about an inch a year, yet we really don't notice. These rocks could very well be a case of the same thing.

Lucas T said...

Katie i think they work together

Erik C said...

(assuming it isn't photo shopped) The rocks are probably moving down a small slope over a long period of time (thousands or millions of years) being forced by strong winds or water (such as rainwater or and ancient river)

Liz N. said...

why would it just slip if nothing was pulling it like a gravitational pull or anything Archer t

Spencer P. Shields said...

Some small animal most have moved them

Erik C said...

Also, there are no footprints.

Archer t said...

Well it is pushed by the wind during the storm. Plus, gravity Liz N.

Isaiahp said...

1. There are no footprints and animal tracks in both photos.2. Those rocks are sailing stones which move every couple of years on a smooth valley floor which is causing a striating trail.

Liz N. said...

Well why would gravity pull on anything if it is not on a slope archer t

Erik C said...

Maybe the rocks are (or were) magnetic and moved very slowly.

Katie Bearor :) said...

I think that the rocks are so light that they blow around fairly easily. Plus with gravity, I think we have a winner. Ding Ding Ding!

Will P said...

1. Because there are no tracks of humans, just of the rocks.

2. The rocks are being moved by gravity moving them down a slight slope. Also wind pushes them.

joshua t said...

#1: Because there are no human feet or knee tracks on the ground
#2: It could have happened with a little rock slide and animal could have bumped it

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
caelin w said...

1. because the earth is moving.


2. the race track makes the rocks look like there moving because the sun is making it look like there moving.

Kacee B said...

There is no track of humans just rocks

Cheyenne R said...

jasmine M. said...

#1: Because there are no human feet or knee tracks on the ground
#2: It could have happened with a little rock slide and animal could have bumped it

Anonymous said...

bubbles rock

Lacey A(: said...

i think the rock is being pulled down the trail of rocks By gravity.

Cheyenne R said...

Because there is no track of the people its all just rocks

lizzy g.. said...

Because there are no human feet or knee tracks on the ground


It could have happened with a little rock slide and animal could have bumped it

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
CHRISTOPHER N. said...

There is no footprints so it couldn't have been human maybe the wind is pushing them

caelin w said...

an animal mite have moved the rocks by pushing it

Kacee B said...

Maybe gravity is pushing the rocks

Anonymous said...

Gubbles(:

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Tracie T.:) said...

I think the rock is being pulled by gravity down a little slope.And wind is pushing it too!

Anonymous said...

HII BUBBLES

Peter m said...

i thick sand storms did it

jason p said...

1. There are no human foot prints.
2. I think the rocks are moving by wind

caelin w said...

gravity holds stuff down on the ground it doesn't move stuff

charlie a said...

i think the rocks grow legs

Anonymous said...

Justin bieber

Sammy P said...

The marks in the sand show the rock has moved, But has not be moved by humans because there are no footprints.

mr bob said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
caelin w said...

rocks can't grow legs

ricky said...

the weather moves the rocks

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
caelin w said...

really guys stop being random talk about science

Anonymous said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Eli G said...

1.there are no human tracks but there could be something magnetic in the rocks and they could be going toward something else that is stationary but magnetic 2. There could be tunnels and something under the rocks that are magnetic and there could be people driving under them with magnets. 3. they could be secret agents.

Jacqueline L. said...

there are no signs of human footprints, its only rocks & its 100% not human

jarred s said...

i don't think any one would want to move rocks in the middle of nowhere

Lauryn f said...

1. I don't have any evidence that the moved with out human help.

2. there is no evidence but there is no rain and no trees for erosinal forces

Jacqueline L. said...

just rock

Sara H said...

1. There are no human footprints or other marks that they have moved the rock.

2.I think they might be moving either by the wind or maybe animals that are burrowing underground could have moved the rocks when they were tunneling.