The Racetrack is a Playa, or dry lake bed. Fine mud and silt occasionally wash down from surrounding hills and become suspended in a shallow, temporary lake with no natural outlet. These particles settle evenly over the lake bottom, maintaining a level surface as the water evaporates; such makes playas the flattest natural surface on earth. Unique to this playa - and origin of its moniker - are the improbable moving rocks across its surface.

The Racetrack is about 3 miles long and 2 miles wide

The Grandstand is an outcrop of quartz monzonite

It's been hypothesized that a rare combination of 1/2 inch of rain and 50 MPH wnds can moves rocks across the Racetrack surface

As the climate changed, ancient lakes evaporated and left behind beige colored mud, at least 1000' thick

Some rocks have moved 1500' across the surface

It's believed that a specific combination of wind and moisture move rocks across the playa surface

Many rocks leave peculiar tracks in the surface

Some rocks are on a collision course that may take thousands of years to materialize

A harsh desert extends for miles in every direction beyond the Racetrack