Devils Hole is nestled within the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, an incredibly biodiverse, spring-fed oasis in southern Nevada.
Devil's Hole was named for its treacherous terrain, but it was a terrain the Senecas knew well and cared deeply for. When a British convoy of wagons passed through Devil's Hole on September 14, 1763 it was met by hundreds of Senecas in ambush.
Devils Hole itself is a water-filled cavern cut into the side of a hill. The cavern is over 500 feet (152 m) deep and the bottom has never been mapped.
One diver, Jim Houtz, dove into the hole dozens of times in the early '60s. According to the Mojave Project, it was his dispatches describing the strangeness below that may have inspired the group of four young men who set off on June 20, 1965 to explore the natural phenomenon.
Located in southern Nevada, the “hole” itself is a fissure in the earth's surface that split open 60,000 years ago to reveal an astonishing underworld: a water-filled limestone cavern. Ironically, beneath the hottest, driest place in the Western Hemisphere stretches a vast aquifer system.
Despite living in what can be one of the harshest climates on earth, they continue to survive and thrive in this remote desert environment. There are about 50-60 living members of the tribe who live in the Death Valley area today. Members work for resorts and local organizations.
It's also home to the eponymous peak, the highest in the U.S. and a serious mountaineering objective that has claimed 127 lives since 1932.
Devils Hole branches into caverns at least 130 m (430 ft) deep, whose bottom has never been mapped. According to geologists, the caves were formed over 500,000 years ago.
Devils Hole is a tectonic cave developed in the discharge zone of a regional aquifer in south-central Nevada. The walls of this predominantly subaqueous (underwater) cavern are coated with dense vein calcite that precipitated from groundwater moving through the cavern.
At the Devils Hole, wilderness warnings are taken seriously.... Not only is there water in the desert at Ash Meadows, there's also a bottomless pit as well. Even more importantly, this bottomless pit isn't just any bottomless pit: it's full of water – fossil water – that's fed from an underground aquifer.
Salt Creek pupfish
Found in Salt Creek in the central part of Death Valley. A boardwalk along the Salt Creek Interpretive Trail allows for easy viewing of the fish in Winter and Spring.
Life in Death Valley
Coyotes, ravens, roadrunners, ground squirrels and lizards are the most commonly seen wildlife of the region, but there are many species who thrive here, hidden or unnoticed by visitors.
Explore the depths of Devils Hole, an underwater cave nestled in the vast desert of Death Valley National Park. Aside from its peculiar location, this complex cave system is home to the rarest fish in the world, the Devils Hole Pupfish. Get ready to dive a world unlike any other.
The Niagara River Gorge is a 300-foot deep, 7-mile long chasm cut out of the Niagara Escarpment along the US-Canada Border downstream of Niagara Falls itself.
The whirlpool is a basin 518 metres (1,700 ft.) long by 365 metres (1,200 ft.) wide, with depths up to 38 metres (125 ft.).
The Devils Hole Pupfish is the Rarest Fish in the World
It's that cool. There is so much to write home about the Devils Hole pupfish and its crazy-alluring environment, so—please—read on! But if you take away one thing—and one thing only—let it be this: it's the rarest fish in the whole world.
Lake Badwater, Death Valley.
This swimming spot features the park's big rocks with ledges rising up to 40 feet above the water. Do take note that while diving and swimming are allowed at the waterhole, there is no lifeguard, so you will swim at your own risk.
Vegetation zones include creosote bush, desert holly, and mesquite at the lower elevations up through shadscale, blackbrush, Joshua tree, pinyon-juniper, to sub-alpine limber pine and bristlecone pine woodlands.
Flash Floods: Avoid canyons during rain storms and be prepared to move to higher ground. While driving, be alert for water running in washes and across road dips. Mine Hazards: Do not enter mine tunnels or shafts. Mines may be unstable, have hidden shafts, pockets of bad air, and poisonous gas.
As the film says, Death Valley is not a place you want to be without water, as while a human can survive three days without water, in this desert you can live just 14 hours.
Death Valley is a vast national park with over 3 million acres of designated wilderness and hundreds of miles of backcountry roads. The park contains an amazing variety of terrain, historic sites, plants and animals for outdoor adventurers to discover on foot, by bike or in your car.
They also have colder winters. The Sahara Desert falls within this region, yet Death Valley, California still records higher temperatures.
All water supplied to the public is disinfected with chlorine. This insures all harmful bacteria are removed. Water is tested daily for chlorine residuals to continuously monitor and control chlorine performance and to also alert personnel if problems occur.
Think dry, rocky, and dark-colored lands. In July 1913, observers in Furnace Creek, California—Death Valley—watched the thermometer reach 56.7°C (134°F) and declared it to be the highest temperature ever recorded on Earth.