In todays article we will be discussing the history of the devils hole. Please note that this article will purely be about the of the devils hole & not Death Valley itself. Also, this article will be formatted slightly differently as the history of this area is cannot properly be told in our usual format. The Devils Hole is a geological formation on the California-Nevada Border. It is in the sweltering hot Death Valley which leaves one to think that aquatic systems would be out of the question. However, some species such as The Devils Hole Pupfish have made themselves a marine ecosystem in this unlikely area. These aquatic ecosystems are some of the most untouched places in the world. They hold some of the most intricate & resilient species to exist. 40 acres of the designated devils hole area is a part of the Ash Meadows Wildlife Refuge. The cavern extends at least 430 feet deep. However it is known that it does go deeper in certain areas, but we don’t currently know how much deeper. With the way that the the devils hole is formed, there is a surface pool area which drains off into a chamber. Below the surface pool, Devils Hole descends approximately 160 feet (49 m) through what is termed the "main chamber" before reaching a narrow opening referred to as the 'funnel'. Through this opening lies a much larger chamber of the cavern system known as Acree's Chasm. Acree's Chasm is approximately 300 feet (91.44 feet ) in length, 40 feet (12 m) in width. The bottom of the cavern lays approximately 260 feet (79.248 meters) below the surface.
The Documented History Of The Devils Hole
B.C Era
The devils hole formed by groundwater slowly eroding the rock around it & eventually forming a limestone cavern. At some point, it was connected to another hot-spring or large water source & fish filtered in from this point. This would go on to cause the devils hole pupfish to become a species, this will be discussed throughout the article. Other then the caves formation, nothing much else is known about the
A.D Era
In the year 1965, a clique of friends scaled the fence surrounding Devils Hole. This was done with the intention of going scuba diving in the Devils Hole. This clique if friends were made up of two boys that were 19-years old & 20-years old. With their diving gear, they went into the devils hole. They would never return from this journey. Soon after the men went missing in the pool, a rescue team attempted to search for the men, they were hoping that the men had gotten stuck in an air pocket deep below the surface. The rescue team sent a diver in the cave in order to hopefully extract the men. Unfortunately, once the diver came back up the surface pool he brought nothing but upsetting news. The diver would come to find a mask with a snorkel, along with a couple other items that belonged to the missing boys over 300-feet below the surface. After searching Devils Hole extensively, the two boys would never be found. It is presumed that they drowned or got stuck in the cave & died of starvation or hypothermia. The cave is incredibly narrow & is uncharted in certain areas so the second theory is quite plausible. There are also no air pockets after a certain point in the cave due to the way that the cave is shaped.
The Endemic Species Of The Devils Hole & How They Arrived
There is 1 species that is naturally occurring to the Devils Hole, it is known as the Devils Hole pupfish. It is unknown how the Devils Hole pupfish actually arrived, however here is the most common theory. The Devils Hole was most likely connected to a hot spring or other body of water at some point. It is theorized that the Devils Hole pupfish originated here & swam into the Devils Hole from this point. At some point later, this entrance was closed leaving the Devils Hole pupfish’s ancestors trapped in the cavern. This would cause them to become isolated from the rest of the fish in said creek & evolve into their own species. Also, a species known as the Cyprinodon Salinus (Death Valley Pupfish) which is found in the nearby Salt Creek, is a very close relative of the Devils Hole pupfish. This leads us to believe that they have had at least a few common ancestors.
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