earth

The lake appears to be a normal one during fall, winter, and a small portion of spring; but during the summer, most of the lake becomes evaporated. Dozens upon dozens of crater-like mineral deposits rest at the bottom of the lake and become visible during the warm weather. The mineral deposits span about 25 feet on average and contain many different concentrations of magnesium sulfate, and calcium/sodium phosphates, which gives them a distinct yellow, orange, green, or blue color.

Via NPR:

A century ago, miners working in California's Death Valley reported seeing boulders on the desert floor with long trails behind them — as if the stones had been pushed across the sand. But despite 60 years of trying, no one ever saw what moved them.

Now scientists think they've solved the mystery of the "slithering rocks of Death Valley." Using GPS tags pasted to the boulders, and a video camera, a geologist from Scripps Institution of Oceanography and his engineer cousin have evidence that broad, jagged panes of melting ice push the stones across the desert, nudged in one direction or another by the breeze. The team details their results in the current issue of the journal Plos One.

Researchers say they have potentially discovered the earliest signs of life on Earth in Western Australia's Pilbara, a breakthrough that may help scientists better understand the solar system.

The international team has found evidence of a complex microbial ecosystem in well-preserved sedimentary rocks that are almost three-and-a-half billion years old.