Perhaps the term “dry lake” might leave you bewildered but rest assured, such an oxymoron does exist in reality.

The Racetrack Playa in California is a dry lakebed found within the Death Valley National Park of roughly 4.5 km long and with a surface area of about 7 km². The mystery of this area that has long bugged visitors is how the rocks seem to move on their own, leaving racetrack imprints which give a hexagonal appearance that the Racetrack Playa is known for. Geologists have tried to explain this phenomenon, theorizing that a rare cocktail of rain and wind conditions propel these large rocks to move the way they do by gliding over the layer of dry yet muddy surface, leaving traces of their trail over time.

While seemingly a subject of supernatural forces, these rocks are in fact a result of nature. A mystery that was solved in recent years, researchers have uncovered evidence of Racetrack Playa transforming into a shallow lake over the wet season. For those with a keen eye, you might even notice footprints that seem to have been embedded into the surface of the lakebed. Those are indeed footprints left as evidence of visitors who visited Racetrack Playa during the wet season, which makes the surface muddier and more prone to the presence of footprints.

Come here now and experience this odd phenomenon for yourself!