What is underneath Death Valley?

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.



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The salt pan of Death Valley is the dried-up bed of Lake Manly, a 600' deep lake that existed about 150,000 years ago.

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Panamint City is a ghost town deep in the Panamint Mountains of Death Valley. It's historic, well preserved and hard to reach. More than 130 years after Panamint City's peak as a silver boomtown, it looks a lot like a post-modern apocalyptic summer camp.

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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.

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At 282 feet (86 meters) below sea level, Death Valley might be expected to be filled with water. But the desert is subject to a rain shadow effect, as humid air masses traveling east from the Pacific Ocean must cross four mountain ranges before they reach the desert valley.

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Does anyone live in Death Valley? Death Valley is the historic homeland of the Timbasha Shoshone. “Some members of the tribe still live within Death Valley, and their village is in Furnace Creek,” Wines said. “It's right here in the center of the park.

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The Kingdom of Shin-au-av: For centuries, legends of an underground city and an ancient race in Death Valley have been told in the Paiute Legend of the Kingdom of Shin-au-av. This place, meaning “God's Land” or “Ghost Land,” is sacred to the Paiute.

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Why is it called Death Valley? Death Valley was given its forbidding name by a group of pioneers lost here in the winter of 1849-1850. Even though, as far as we know, only one of the group died here, they all assumed that this valley would be their grave.

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Devil's Hole was a moniker the area earned for its difficult terrain making it tough to navigate. The battle in 1763 only reinforced the nickname among locals, and it stuck.

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On March 20, 2012, a 7.4-magnitude earthquake in Oaxaca, Mexico, some 2,000 miles (3,200 km) away and centered roughly 12 miles (19 km) below the surface, caused an undulating 4 feet (1.2 m) rise and fall of the cavern waters, as appreciated by researchers working at Devil's Hole at the time.

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With a maximum depth of 54 feet, Devil's Den Spring offers ancient rock formations that date back 33 million years. Divers and snorkelers can enjoy fantastic views inside crystal clear water that remains a cool 72 degrees year-round. Also, don't worry about dangerous wildlife in the water.

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Start at the gorge overlook at Devil's Hole, and head down the stone stairway. There are an estimated 410 steps heading down.

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Yes, It Even Can Snow NWS-Las Vegas official records say a trace of snow was recorded on three other dates, most recently January 4-5, 1974, and January 22, 1962. A prolonged cold snap in January of 1949 also deposited trace snow amounts in the valley, briefly covering the ground at Furnace Creek Ranch before melting.

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