Racetrack Playa
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The Racetrack Playa is one of the most unusual landscapes in Death Valley National Park. Located in a remote basin between the Cottonwood Mountains and the Last Chance Range, the Racetrack is a broad dry lakebed known for the mysterious tracks left by moving rocks. Large stones scattered across the playa slowly slide across the flat mud surface under rare conditions involving thin ice, wind, and shallow water. As the rocks move, they leave long trails etched into the hardened mud behind them. The smooth clay surface of the playa forms when seasonal water fills the basin and later evaporates, leaving behind a flat cracked surface. Because of its remote location and unusual geology, the Racetrack has become one of the most famous backcountry destinations in Death Valley.
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