Did You Know This Insane Fact About Utah's Red Rock Towers?

Did you know that Utah's red rock towers are always in constant motion?

New research from the University of Utah reveals the red rock towers located in Southern Utah and across the Colorado Plateau are always moving. No, they're not pulling a Toy Story and switching locations when you're not looking. In fact, the movement isn't visible to the human eye at all. The rock formations are constantly vibrating.

University of Utah researchers said earthquakes, wind and ocean waves can all affect the towers' vibrations and movements. Here's what the university said in a press release about its new findings, according to FOX 13:

"The frequencies at which the rocks vibrate and the ways they deform during that vibration, can be largely predicted using the same mathematics that describe how beams in built structures resonate. Knowing these properties is crucial to understanding the seismic stability of a rock tower and its susceptibility to hazardous vibrations. But it’s tough to get the needed data, partly because getting to the base of the towers often requires traveling through treacherous terrain – and then someone has to climb them to place a seismometer at the top."

Fourteen rock towers were analyzed, which allows researchers to continue to use a unique dataset with a variety of heights and shapes — so now, it's not necessary for someone to climb a 300-foot rock formation to get data. Someone already did!

"... knowing this information is important for any assessments related to the seismic stability of a tower or potential vibration damage," said lead author Riley Finnegan, a doctoral student in geophysics.