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California's Earthquake Shook Devils Hole At Death Valley National Park

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By NPT Staff - July 18th, 2019

That 7.1 magnitude earthquake that shook California earlier this month reached out across Nevada, too, and sent shudders through Devils Hole at Death Valley National Park.

Park staff reported no lasting problems to the warm spring that is home to a unique population of pup fish. But as this video shows, the July 5 earthquake did create waves.

The waves created by the earthquake caused the water to raise and drop at least 10-15 feet. There were not any stranded pupfish found the day after the quake. The fish seem to be in good condition with spawning behavior occurring. Fifteen-20 fish were observed on the shelf on Saturday (July 6) morning.  

Distant earthquakes affecting Devils Hole are not unusual. Back in January 2018 a powerful earthquake off the coast of Alaska caused water to slosh in Devils Hole. The magnitude 7.9 earthquake’s epicenter was in the Gulf of Alaska, approximately 170 miles south of Kodiak, Alaska, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The quake happened in the early morning hours of Monday, January 23, 2018.

Minutes later, the earthquake’s impact was felt about 2,000 miles away in the Nevada desert.

Comments

Submitted by Larry Riendeau on August 29, 2020 - 8:35am.

It should come as no surprise that the earthquake affected the caverns in Death Valley as Ridgecrest is nearly ajacent to the park, on the Western side. It is one of DVNP's closest full-service cities.


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