‘Living stones’ claims are popular, but evidence for motion/growth at this site is weak
Claim about Valley of the Planets (Wan Tikofi / Wadi al-Kawakeb) · Stance: challenging
Some media describe the rocks as 'trovants' that grow or move. Without monitored measurements or published field reports for this valley, such claims should be treated as unverified storytelling.
Site
Evidence for and against
- Scientific Reports model for sedimentary concretion growth
Other claims about Valley of the Planets (Wan Tikofi / Wadi al-Kawakeb)
- A remote Libyan valley is popularly known as the 'Valley of the Planets' for its rounded/discoidal boulders
- The valley is usually described within the broader Tadrart Acacus (Akakus) landscape context
- A mainstream hypothesis: the boulders are natural concretions and/or differential cementation remnants
- Another mainstream mechanism: weathering/exfoliation can produce smooth, rounded 'onion-skin' surfaces
- Attribution to NASA ('NASA explored/identified it') is often asserted but rarely documented with primary references
- Alternative hypothesis: the boulders were shaped or arranged by people (disputed)
- Alternative hypothesis: the boulders are evidence of extraterrestrial activity (disputed)
- Meta-claim: there appears to be little peer‑reviewed work focused specifically on this boulder field
- Holocene lakes and wet phases could have influenced weathering/cementation processes (contextual, not proven)