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Sneaky Stones That Move On Their Own - Videos from The Weather Channel
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Sneaky Stones That Move On Their Own

February 22, 2026

In the remote Racetrack Playa of Death Valley National Park, California, massive boulders—some weighing up to 300 pounds—mysteriously slide across the dried lakebed, leaving perfectly traced trails behind them that stretch for hundreds of feet. Scientists were stumped until 2014, when they finally caught the "sailing stones" in action using time-lapse cameras and GPS trackers. The wild truth involves weather: freezing nights that turn shallow water into thin ice sheets, morning sun that starts melting the ice, and desert winds that push the rocks across the slick surface at speeds up to 15 feet per minute. Some trails stretch for hundreds of feet, with rocks making sharp turns and zigzags like they're being controlled by an invisible hand.