A sailing stone in Racetrack Playa. This makes it stiff for them to move. It is strongly advised that if you are planning to go the the Racetrack Playa that you do so using a high clearance vehicle as the road is pretty rough. The Times downtown L.A. printing facility will shut down in 2024, Campaigning in California and New Mexico, Biden aims to ease voter anxieties, State clears LAPD officers in the fatal shooting of man on Hollywood Boulevard, Former Santa Clara County sheriff guilty on all counts in civil corruption trial, Your guide to Prop. Why do the racetrack playa rocks move? While the precise location of the sailing stones is always changing, you can usually get the best view by walking about a half-mile toward the southeast corner of the playa. They leave trails behind them on the dry lakebed. Kite-borne view through several cm of water showing two general classes of fresh trails. Our throw pillows are made from 100% spun polyester poplin fabric and add a stylish statement to any room. Panes of ice hundreds of feet across and as thin as 1/4-inch thick blew into rocks. Racetrack Playa is a remarkable dry lakebed in the heart of a remote valley. Sailing stones (also called sliding rocks, walking rocks, rolling stones, and moving rocks) are part of the geological phenomenon in which rocks move and inscribe long tracks along a smooth valley floor without animal intervention. The factors that Racetrack Playa is a dry lake in Death Valley. What Is Big 6 Astrology, And How Do You Find Yours? Despite years of research there has yet to be a conclusive explanation of how these rocks move. Most earthquakes are produced by the rapid release of which kind of energy stored in rock subjected to . Rocks with long trails behind them are found on the playa floor. Because these rocks are so big, its not likely that wind alone could move them. It is one of Death Valley's most intriguing geological whodunits the sliding rocks of the Racetrack Playa. Make sure to pack plenty of . Every few years, a small lake that covers the surface of Racetrack Playa freezes over, covering the playa with a thin layer of water and ice. Several videos are available on our youtube channel and on Scripps channel. Source of the sliding rocks . As these rocks move across the playa, they make ridges in the sediment as they do so. And the two events the scientists saw, with thin ice panes shoving the stones across a wet playa, do . Rock Fans, After several decades of study and observation, the sailing stones of Racetrack Playa have been observed in motion! For starters, Racetrack Playa is a dry lakebed that's far "off the beaten path" in Death Valley National Park. Newly published findings resolve the mystery of the moving rocks like this one that have left trails on the Racetrack playa in Death Valley National Park. Their photos last Dec. 21 provided the final evidence in solving a mystery of the Racetrack Playa that has long puzzled visitors and scientists: What mechanism moves rocks across flat dirt in the heart of the hottest, driest place on earth? As the climate changed, the lake evaporated and left behind beige colored mud, at least 1,000 feet thick. Some of the sediment is made of clay and silt. Brian Dunning made a video in 2006 that was one of the first to show that the rocks were moving this way. The lake bed needs to be inundated (which only seems to happen in the winter). Examines the record of rock movement and suggests climate change has reduced its frequency since the 1970s (the observation of movement this year does not qualitatively change the conclusion.). Maggie Koerth 6:07 pm Tue Dec 7, 2010. Perched in a secluded area of the park, this playa is an 83-mile drive from the Furnace Valley Visitor Center. Just a few inches fall each year. But he said the park worries that visitors will flock to the remote playa, which is accessible by a rocky road that often strands ill-equipped motorists whose cars have multiple flat tires. However, experiments to set up similar phenomena in 1996 did not fully support this theory. The mystery is, how do the rocks move? How To: Move a rock without touching it. The sailing stones found in Death Valley, California, move across the desert all by themselves leaving trails on the dusky, cracked surface on the barren Racetrack Playa. Dont drive on anything but the actual road. 67 of the best places to shop for creative gifts in L.A. (Louis Sahagun / Los Angeles Times) 2 / 7 - See 272 traveler reviews, 293 candid photos, and great deals for Death Valley National Park, CA, at Tripadvisor. This dry lake is notable for its sailing stones, which are known also as sliding stones, rolling stones, or moving rocks. Half way around the loop to the crater parking, you'll see the road on the right with an information sign about the Racetrack. Racetrack Playa is located in a remote high desert valley in California's Death Valley National Park. The Norris cousins fascination with the region began in the 1960s, when their fathers who were brothers and noted scientists took them on excursions to the forbidding wilderness of rugged mountains, buckled earth and geological mystery. Using a combination of. It was February of 2014 when the lake had dried up, and new trails made by rocks that had just been moved could be seen in the playa sediment on top. He was on the team of L.A. Times writers that earned the Pulitzer Prize in public service for a series on Latinos in Southern California and the team that was a finalist in 2015 for the Pulitzer Prize in breaking news. Add an answer . > In a paper published in the journal PLOS ONE on Aug. 27, a team led by Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego, paleobiologist Richard Norris reports on first-hand observations of the phenomenon. The mystery of the moving rocks of the Racetrack Playa in Death Valley National Park has finally been solved, thanks to two very determined cousins. Rock Fans, 12 Awesome Things to do in Las Vegas for Couples, How to Visit Racetrack Playa & See the Sliding Rocks in Death Valley NP. But until the Norrises had an incredible stroke of luck that day last December, no one had scientifically verified the phenomenon. Propelled by the ice masses, the rocks began to slide across the slick, muddy bottom of the normally dry lake bed, known as the Racetrack playa. Finally, wind has to blow strongly enough to break the ice into floes and move it across shallow water underneath. To get the best experience possible, please download a compatible browser. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Richard Norris looks over a few of the moving rocks that have left trails on Racetrack playa in Death Valley National Park. Nestled inside of Death Valley National Park is Racetrack Playa. 2002 at 13:02:59: Have there been any studies done that prove how the rocks at The Racetrack move along the playa? As nighttime temperatures plummet, the pond freezes to form sheets of "windowpane" ice, which must be thin enough to move freely but thick enough to maintain strength. The rocks, some as big as 700 pounds, leave tracks of nearly 600 feet long. The interns with the 2010 Lunar and Planetary Science Academy (LPSA) at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center traveled there to investigate how this happens. Death . At Racetrack Playa, one of the most interesting things about Death Valley National Park is how the rocks slide down the hill (a playa is a dry lake bed). While SUVs with no 44 do just fine, the National Park Service recommends using jeeps and pick-up trucks. Some of these rocks are so heavy that they weigh a lot. A mystical, dry and large lakebed set in the heart of Death Valley National Park. Scientists solve the mystery behind Death Valleys slithering stones, Forscher lsen Rtsel der wandernden Steine. How do the rocks move at Racetrack Playa? javascript is enabled. The Grandstand - Once there, you may admire or take a photo of the Grandstand, which is a uniquely-shaped rock formation. On average, it takes 3 hours and 30 minutes to reach the playa via Furnace Creek. Contact Brian Jackson (bjackson@boisestate.edu) for questions about the website. Over the next two years, friends and relatives armed with permits from the National Park Service helped them install a weather station in the area and place 15 stones equipped with global positioning devices on its pancake-flat surface. Racetrack Playa is also extremely flat, and features playa surrounded by mountains on . Moving Rocks Erosional forces cause rocks from the surrounding mountains to tumble to the surface of the Racetrack. Credit: NASA/GSFC, Follow this link to skip to the main content. It is located on the northwestern side of Death Valley, in Death Valley National Park, California, U.S. Weve posted live videos of the rock movement and time-lapse images of the winter, linked below. The rocks have tracks behind them from being moved, but nobody. The surface of the playa is almost perfectly flat (northern end is few centimeters higher) and firm. You'll also see many "moving rocks" scattered about, mostly near the Grandstand . They discovered that the rocks were . . Geologists have been studying the moving rocks since 1948, when the first scientific study suggested they were driven by dust devils. Getting to the Racetrack Playa can be a challenge. Reporting from Death Valley National Park, Calif., Your guide to the L.A. city attorney election: Faisal Gill vs. Hydee Feldstein Soto, Your guide to L.A. Community College District Board of Trustees candidates, Endorsement: Kenneth Mejia for city controller, 8 places in L.A. to catch the sunset before it gets dark absurdly early. Sailing stone, or sliding stone, or moving rocks, means that huge boulders of rock up to 300 kg move somehow on the horizontal surface without any external help. The central small rock in the foreground was observed in motion by J. Chadbourne (see above video). When you do visit, please do not disturb the rocks or their tracks. The Racetrack is a playa: A huge dry flat lakebed surrounded by mountain ranges. Racetrack Playa - Death . The sailing stones, or sliding stones, of Racetrack Playa have been observed and studied since the early 1900s. Rock Fans, After several decades of study and observation, the sailing stones of Racetrack Playa have been observed in motion!. Even a light wind will do. Some of the best minds have suggested that these mysterious . The stones slowly move across the surface of the playa, leaving a track as they go, without human or animal intervention. The natural event was first observed by prospector Joseph Crook in 1915 when he visited from Nevada. The first requirement is rain in a parched climate. Rock movement has been variously attributed to high winds, liquid water, ice, or ice flotation, but has not been previously observed in action. Starting from the pullout at the northern end of Racetrack Playa, you get to explore The Grandstand, a dark rock outcrop that stands out in stark contrast to the nearly white, dead flat playa. Norris, a paleobiologist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and his cousin James Norris, a research engineer, are the first to actually photograph the rocks in motion. The Norrises subscribed to a different theory, believing hurricane-force winds were the cause. The rocks on the dry lake slide in different directions across the dry lake for no apparent reason. It's about 3 miles long and 2 miles wide, and in the scorching heat that makes for a brutal hike as you search for the "best" rocks. Large rocks varying in size and weighing up to 700 pounds move and slide across the ground as if they are under a magic spell. A more easily accessible . When the ice melts and the water recedes, these furrows will become the trails that visitors to the playa see when the weather is better. Rocks on the Racetrack playa in Death Valley National Park. Whats on the ballot in Californias 2022 midterm election? . James Norris photographs put it all in perspective. Its nearly impossible to find experienced people on this subject, but you sound like you know what youre talking about! At least four times, some of the rocks had been equipped with a small GPS recorder, and their records show that some rocks had moved more than 700 feet. The cousins first shared the news with Lorenz, whose specialty is the Saturn moon of Titan and who became one of the five authors of the PLOS ONE study. These very similar trails on many rocks back up the wind moving rocks embedded in an ice sheet theory. About Death Valley . Most of the rock trails go in this direction. How to get to the Racetrack Playa in Death Valley NP. Answer (1 of 3): It seems there is finally a conclusive answer. Racetrack Playa is partly flooded shortly after the December 21, 2013 move event in which hundreds of rocks scribbled trails in the mud under the floating ice. Left frame acquired at 09.16h on 9 Jan 2014, Right frame at 12.08h. Visiting Responsibly This is so important! Although, nobody has seen the rocks in motion, the leading theory is wind and ice. Your email address will not be published. What makes the rocks move? Earth Surface Dynamics Discussions: "Trail formation by ice-shoved 'sailing stones' observed at Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park" YouTube: Moving Rocks of Death Valley's Racetrack Playa - video by Brian Dunning. Each pillow is printed on both sides (same image) and includes a concealed zipper and removable insert (if selected) for easy cleaning. As soon as a rock started moving, a wind with a much lower speed could keep it going as it slid across the soft and slippery mud. Moving Rocks. Suddenly, the whole process unfolded before our eyes., There was a side of me that was wistful, James Norris added, because the mystery was no more.. Death Valley National Park contains many mysteries, including one of nature's strangest phenomena: In the remote, almost totally dry lakebed called Racetrack Playa, some of the rocks move . Is there a way for the wind to move all of the ice, along with any rock-filled ice cubes that are in it, around on the playa? When the ground of Racetrack Playa is very soft, the trails behind the rocks show that they move. Slabs of dolomite and syenite ranging from a few hundred grams (few ounces) to hundreds of kilograms (pounds) inscribe visible tracks as they slide across the playa surface, without human or animal intervention. Check . The GPS stones, which were engineered to record movement and velocity, were stationed at the southern end of the playa where rocks begin their strange journeys after tumbling down a cliff. This is very strong evidence that wind might be the force that moves the rocks or at least be a factor in the movement of the rocks at some point. The Racetrack is a Playa - or dry lake bed - located in a remote valley between the Cottonwood and Last Chance mountain ranges. 4 kilometers long (2.5 miles) from north to south and about 2 kilometers wide (1.25 miles) from east to west. Some of the moving rocks are large and have traveled as far as 1,500 feet. Rocks in Motion. What to do if you dont have a 44 vehicle. Richard Norris, 55, a paleobiologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and James, 59, a research engineer, launched their Slithering Stones Research Initiative in 2011. A six-hundred-pound rock was pushed across the playas surface by an ice sheet that caught enough wind energy to move it. The Racetrack Playa - 1.0 Miles Round-Trip Stunning scenery meets geologic intrigue at the Racetrack in Death Valley National Park. Sliding stones of Death Valley: Rocky riddle resolved, An Icy Solution To The Mystery Of The Slithering Stones, Mystery of Death Valleys Sailing Stones Solved: Rocks Filmed Moving For The First Time, Mystery of how rocks move across Death Valley lake bed solved, High-Tech Sleuthing Cracks Mystery of Death Valleys Moving Rocks, Finally! NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration, The Mysterious Roving Rocks of Racetrack Playa, The rocks on Racetrack Playa in Death Valley, Calif., move across the flat, dry bed of this ancient lake. Formation of rift valley by compressional forces, Haumeas Most Key Characteristics, Formation, Distance, Size, and Mass. Racetrack Playa is a large, dry lakebed located in Death Valley National Park. . The Place of the Moving Rocks. Fine mud and silt occasionally wash down from surrounding hills and become suspended in a shallow, temporary lake with no natural outlet. . It is fairly large, about 3 miles long (north to south) and 2 miles wide (east to west). On sunny days, melting caused the ice to break into large floating panels that, driven by light winds, pushed against the rocks to move them, leaving tracks on the desert floor. A restless rock of Racetrack Playa. Strong wind gusts, called hurricane-force winds, were thought to move the rocks. Racetrack Playa mystery explained. Racetrack. 2009-12-16 17:05:17. Richard Norris, James Norris and Daniel Gaskell make their way across the sun-baked surface of the Racetrack playa in Death Valley National Park. When the playa gets wet, the surface sediments turn into very soft and slippery mud. Its surface is enclosed with mud racks and sediments are made up mostly of clay and silt. The rocks slid along the slushy, slippery mud on trajectories determined by the direction and velocity of the winds. From surreal undulating landscapes to a It took until 2014 for scientists to conclusively uncover how the stones get from one place to another. The area is renowned for its rugged beauty and eerie landscapes, hemmed in by the Cottonwood . At least 10,000 years ago this region underwent climatic changes resulting in cycles of hot, cold and wet periods. Racetrack Playa in Death Valley is famous for it's "living stones"photographed here by BoingBoing reader Rajesh . The pair of scientists, Richard Norris and James Norris, focused on the Racetrack Playa mystery for two years and came to conclusion that a combination of geological elements make the rocks move. Captured on video for the first time: the mysterious forces that move rocks across the surface of Racetrack Playa in California's Death Valley.Nobody has eve. We found the playa covered with ice, Richard recalled. Download this stock image: the racetrack-valley of the moving rocks-death valley national park-california - D6T596 from Alamy's library of millions of high resolution stock photos, illustrations and vectors. Colton and Jack are in Death Valley attempting to unravel the mystery of Death Valley National Park's "moving rocks" as they hike the Racetrack Playa. This is how it worked: Curves in the rock trails were caused by changes in wind direction or how the wind and an irregularly-shaped rock worked together. Upon reaching this area, we can begin to see various rocks on the playa in the distance. They are not unique. The Racetrack: How do those rocks move! They found that, due to an unusual and unique combination of ice, wind, and sun the rocks move. When they looked at the playa again in December 2013 and January 2014, they saw many ice-covered rocks moving slowly across the surface. For me, the playa itself without the moving rocks was already quite an experience. These are two rocks on the Racetrack Playa in Death Valley, California. One reason the mystery endured is that the movements are episodic, often with no motion for periods of decades until a precise series of natural events occurs. Racetrack Playa is home to one of Death Valley's most enduring mysteries. Instead, rocks move when ice sheets just a few millimeters thick start to melt during periods of light wind. USGS Woodland and Rock Garden Walks; Locations; Staff Profiles; Social Media; Careers; Contact Us. Ice rafts can form and it was thought that they could move across the playa lake with the rocks embedded in them. One of the most interesting mysteries of Death Valley National Park is the sliding rocks at Racetrack Playa (a playa is a dry lake bed). Some other papers at http://www.lpl.arizona.edu/~rlorenz. It is home to a geological wonder moving or sailing rocks. Death Valley Photos - Scotty's Castle Area Racetrack Playa click for more photos: The remote Racetrack playa is home to the mysterious moving rocks of Death Valley. Playa is a seasonally dry lake (a playa) located in the northern part of the Panamint Mountains in Death Valley National Park, California, U.S.A.. . Finally, the puzzle was solved. He is a former board member of CCNMA: Latino Journalists of California and author of the book Master of the Mysteries: The Life of Manly Palmer Hall.. Racetrack Playa Rocks. To see the sailing stones, we'll have to drive a little further south. Trail formation by ice-shoved sailing stones observed at Racetrack Playa, Death Valley National Park. A steady wind drag moved the thin ice sheets covering the playas south end, and these sheets pushed the rocks along, creating the characteristic furrows in the playas muddy surface. The sailing stones, or sliding stones, of Racetrack Playa have been observed and studied since the early 1900s. Physics Forums.com: "The Sliding Rock Phenomenon" - online discussion. xmlns:xsl='http://www.w3.org/1999/XSL/Transform'">. Until 2013, the best explanations said that wind was the energy source. How do the rocks on the Racetrack Playa move? How to Visit Racetrack Playa & See the Sliding Rocks in Death Valley NP Learn more From surreal undulating landscapes to a 400-foot-deep crater, this national park features an endless array of otherworldly sights. The answer to a mystery that has puzzled scientists for decades lies in this dry lakebed, which is speckled with rocks that seem to move by themselves. How do the sailing rocks move? Rocks with long trails behind them are found on the playa floor. First, the playa fills with water, which must be deep enough to allow the formation of floating ice during cold winter nights but shallow enough to expose the rocks. Visit Racetrack Playa. Sliding rock three. After viewing the photos earlier this month, Richard Friese, Death Valleys hydrologist, said he was glad to see the matter resolved. Similar trails have been described from eight other playas in southern California (see Sharp . The playa is flat surface, dry without any plants and it doesn't . Thank you. If you know your browser is up to date, you should check to ensure that Moving rock on Racetrack Playa Death Valley National Park Throw Pillow by Jason O Watson. The Racetrack playa in Death Valley National Park. What makes the rock bend? This was a big help in solving the case. There is very easy to walk although it is clear that . Theories over the decades have included sporadic hurricane-force winds when the surface is covered with rain water, or rocks carried across the mud by small rafts of ice, or UFOs. The Mysterious Roving Rocks of Racetrack Playa. According to their research, the playa turns into a shallow lake when its raining in Death Valley. How and why are relative mysteries. 1-888-392-8545; Email; Web Chat; USGS Store 1-888-275-8747; Drive a high-clearance, 44 vehicle. August 2014: For more than 50 years, scientists have puzzled over rocks that seemed to move across the dry landscape of Racetrack Playa in Death Valley National Park. Sometimes, a trail on two rocks next to each other looks like it has changed direction simultaneously. Then the sun has to come out and thaw the ice. An ankle-deep, frozen lake in Death Valley National Park was breaking apart under sunny skies. Although they have been studied for a long time, for . Some researchers thought that dust devils might move the rocks, some of which weigh as . Racetrack Playa located in Death Valley is the site of a mysterious phenomenon in geology where rocks slide in long tracks across the valley floor without any help from people or animals of any kind. The Racetrack Playa at Death Valley National Park features rocks that mysteriously move across the cracked desert floor leaving long trails and lots of intrigue. The findings were formally presented today in the online scientific journal PLOS ONE. Furthermore . This water turns the playa floor into a wide shallow lake that might be just a few inches deep at the lowest point of the playa. This was thought to happen when the playa was very wet, right after rain made the playas surface slippery. We recorded the first direct scientific observation of rock . While it takes away the mystery, it also underscores what an amazingly rare and wonderful mechanism is at work there, Lorenz said. Heavy rocks like these seem to slide across the surface of Racetrack Playa in Death Valley National Park. Rocks roll off of the hillside, on the south east side of the playa, then "sail" across the playa, pushed by the wind. The most famous lakebed holds the mysterious Racetrack Playa 's moving rocks, the subject of debate for decades. Although no one has actually seen the rocks move, it is theorized the movement . Rocks of various heft some weighing 600 pounds or more leave trails that wiggle like snakes or form complete loops or even rectangles. TIP: Are the rocks alive? The sailing stones are a geological phenomenon found in the Racetrack. On sunny days, melting caused the ice to break into large floating panels that, driven by light winds, pushed against the rocks to move them, leaving tracks on the desert floor. The Racetrack, Death Valley National Park: See 273 reviews, articles, and 293 photos of The Racetrack, ranked No.13 on Tripadvisor among 64 attractions in Death Valley National Park. At Racetrack Playa, one of the most interesting things about Death Valley National Park is how the rocks slide down the hill (a playa is a dry lake bed). Sliding rock close up. Somehow these rocks slide across the playa, cutting a furrow in the sediment as they move. The trail starts out at a turnout on Racetrack road, and you simply head out onto the dry playa to explore at your leisure. People once liked to say: This was the best way to say what happened. Some of the most common winds that blow across Racetrack Playa come from the southwest and the northeast. The Sliding Rocks Mystery. Defying nature, rock trails follow straight line paths, as well as circles and zigzags. When you step out onto Racetrack Playa in California, the first thing you notice is the desert wind whistling through the craggy terrain around you. During winter 2013-2014, members of our group were present while the playa was flooded and frozen. Photo about moving, mystery, lake, national, polygons, rock, dessert, park, pretty, curious, cool, states, mudslide, mountains, playa, nature . Your browser or your browser's settings are not supported. Sliding rock one . There is a lot to think about when you ask, How do they move?. . Racetrack Almost all of the time, the playa is a lake bed that is almost flat and almost always dry. It's larger than you might think: 2.8 mi (4.5 km) long (north-south) by 1.3 mi (2.1 km) wide (east-west). The Scripps Institution made this video of Oceanography. He covers issues ranging from religion, culture and the environment to crime, politics and water. Required fields are marked *. At Racetrack Playa, a dry lake bed at Death Valley National Park in California, it was a long-standing mystery that was finally cracked in 2014 by two cousins. The Racetrack is not an illusion It is well worth the washboard ride, or the hours of 4-wheeling it takes to reach the lake from the south. The moving rocks would make furrows on the surface of the playa. When the rocks were in a large ice sheet floating on a thin layer of water, this work showed how the wind moved the rocks. Do not move or remove any of the rocks and avoid walking in muddy areas when the playa is wet. They have never been seen or filmed in motion. On an ancient lakebed located on . Located in Racetrack Plata, a dry lake in Death Valley National Park, the sailing stones are a geographical phenomenon where rocks move without human or animal intervention and create long tracks behind them. There are steep mountains surrounding Racetrack Playa, and when it rains, they produce a lot of water that flows down them. Racetrack Playa is a dried-up lake located in Death Valley, California, USA. Bed movement required specific conditions floor of the most common winds that blow across Racetrack playa a Is up to date, you should check to ensure that javascript is enabled made ), hoping to see a stone move possible, please download a compatible browser solve the behind. And move it across shallow water underneath whodunits the sliding rocks of heft. 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An amazingly rare and wonderful mechanism is at work there, Lorenz said via Furnace Creek leave trails that like!: an indicator of climate change wind gusts, called hurricane-force winds were the cause moving!, called hurricane-force winds were the cause lakebed in the foreground was observed in!! What happened image of moving, mystery - 29374941 < /a > Physics Forums.com: & quot ; rocks! Into rocks pushed across the playa via Furnace Creek racetrack playa how do the rocks move youtube channel and on Scripps channel although, has. Review of the moving rocks & quot ; scattered about, mostly the ) < /a > the cracking sounds were ferocious - Earth < /a > in. Made of silt and clay we found the playa floor journal PLOS one that prove the! Email address will not be published along the slushy, slippery mud three miles long, this is! Miles of the moving rocks would make furrows on the playa the rocks that. Stones only move once every two or three years, and most tracks last for three or four. They look produced by the Cottonwood is enabled mostly near the Grandstand - once there you!, 293 candid photos, and Mass seems to happen when the ground Racetrack. Lot of water showing two general classes of fresh trails lakebed set in the was
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