Tuesday, June 10, 2008

MOVING ROCKS OF THE DEATH VALLEY-A MYSTERY

It was a challenge to get information on the moving rocks at Death Valley. The reason that they move
along the 10,000 year old dried up clay lake bed is still somewhat of a mystery. Several teams of scientists have taken their shot at explaining the movement, but the actual migration of the rocks has never been witnessed by anyone as far as we know.

Getting to the moving rocks is an adventure in itself. We went to the ranger's station to get information on the trip out there past the crater. An assistant to the rangers argued why we should not go out there - from voiding the car rental agreement to the possibility of rain and mud. We believe that he may not want people to go out there because some people steal or move the rocks and he does not want any more damage to the site.

We figured that we had already voided any rental agreement when we drove to Death Valley via a gravel road with huge pits and drop-offs, so what could be worse. We drove out along the 20 mile dirt road, and in an hour we were at the moving rocks.

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