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Devil’s Hole in Death Valley NP is the water you will never see

By Brian Miller

DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 18: A sign points to water, and air for car tires at a gas station on August 18, 2020 in Death Valley National Park, California. The temperature reached 130 degrees at Death Valley National Park on August 16, hitting what may be the hottest temperature recorded on Earth since at least 1913, according to the National Weather Service. Park visitors have been warned, ‘Travel prepared to survive.’ (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)
DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 18: A sign points to water, and air for car tires at a gas station on August 18, 2020 in Death Valley National Park, California. The temperature reached 130 degrees at Death Valley National Park on August 16, hitting what may be the hottest temperature recorded on Earth since at least 1913, according to the National Weather Service. Park visitors have been warned, ‘Travel prepared to survive.’ (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) /
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Death Valley is both a beautiful and dangerous national park but there is an oasis at Devil’s Hole you will never be able to visit.

Located in the middle of the Death Valley National Park, Devil’s Hole is a pristine underwater world that you can’t see, can’t visit, and can’t touch but if you could, you would be looking back into time more than 10,000 years.

Part of the Ash Meadows area of the park, Devil’s Hole is 40 acres and home to the Devil’s Hole Pupfish, a unique and endangered species of fish that lives only in this hole. It is reported that water was trapped over centuries upon centuries and that a single molecule of water will take 10,000 years to reach the hole itself naturally. The hole is over 500 feet deep and the bottom has never been reached.

Research divers explore the endless caverns below and twice a year a population count is conducted to determine the strength of the species that call Devil’s Hole its home.

Outside, you can see the fence that surrounds the entrance but you can’t go inside. The National Park Service keeps this area free of visitors without a permit but you can still visit the area and Death Valley is an incredible place to visit as it is.

Interestingly enough, the hole will splash with water from earthquakes that happen clear across the planet. A video of one such “Tsunami” was captured in 2019. You can watch that here.

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I’m sure you can get an Ash Meadow or Devil’s Hole stamp for your National Parks stamps book but it would still be cool to peer down into the hole and view an ancient living world in 2021.

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