The second stop on my National Parks Tour is Death Valley National Park. Well, before we get to THE Death Valley National Park, I want to cover a stop that Lynda (sister and travel companion) and I made on our way. Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge is in Nevada near the California border, and a small section of Ash Meadows is actually a part of Death Valley N.P.
We drove in from our overnight stay in Pahrump, Nevada which is famously—or infamously—known for its legal brothels. Of course, there is a lot more to this unicorporated town of about 35,000 people. Aside from the requisite casinos there are three wineries. In fact, our RV campground was called Wine Ridge and had a wine tasting facility. Pahrump is where casino owner Ted Binion buried his large cache of silver treasure and Michael Jackson once lived there with his three children, although just for a short time. It's about halfway between Las Vegas and Death Valley National Park and between Pahrump and Death Valley is Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. This was going to be our first stop on a week-long Death Valley National Park trip.
There are some really interesting things happening at Ash Meadows, even though at a casual glance, it might not look like much. It’s in the Mojave Desert, and for the most part, it appears pretty darn dry. However, there are about 40 springs and seeps of crystal clear water that come up to the surface to create ponds, streams and marshes throughout the refuge. The water is called fossil water because it’s believed to be melted ice from the last ice age.
There are 26 species of endemic plants and animals at the refuge, which means they don’t exist anywhere else in the world. This is the greatest concentration of endemic species anywhere in the United States. Three of them are endangered fish, including 2 species of pupfish. Some others are snails, and plants. It is also a Ramsar Site, which is a wetland designation of international importance.
We entered the refuge through the south entrance and immediately realized it was going to be all gravel road. Lynda just drove really slowly, and it wasn’t too bad. Our first stop was at Point of Rocks Spring which had an above ground boardwalk that led to one of the springs the refuge is known for and is wheelchair accessible. The water at the spring was a beautiful, crystal clear blue, and we could see the Amargosa pupfish just below the surface. I wish I’d gotten a better photo of the blue male pupfish, but here is one of the more drab females.
We then drove to the Devils Hole–maybe the coolest thing about Ash Meadows. Incidentally, the Devils Hole is the area of the refuge that is also a part of Death Valley National Park even though it’s detached. The Devils Hole is a flooded cave that is at least 500 feet deep, although the true depth is unknown as divers have never gotten deeper than that. The surface part of the cavern is pretty small, only about 8’x60’, and access to it is locked down tight. Visitors can only view the water through fenced in scaffolding. So why all of the special attention to this hole in the ground filled with water?
First of all, the Devils Hole is home to the Devils Hole desert pupfish, the rarest fish on earth and the first species to ever be given the endangered designation back in 1967. It also has the smallest geographic range of any known vertebrate species as it only exists in this body of water and spends most of its time on a 8’x19’ shelf that is 2’ below the surface where they forage and spawn. And it has survived there for 10,000-12,000 years! The pupfish have evolved to withstand the high temperatures of the warm spring (92°F, 33°C) and live on algae that only gets about 4 hours of sunlight a day. It’s also the world’s smallest pupfish at only ¾” in length. The males are an electric blue color, females a dull gray and their population hovers around 100 individuals. Oh, and they only live about 1 year.
Aside from the pupfish though, there is actually a SECOND cool thing about this little hole in the ground. The Devils Hole is an indicator of seismic activity that occurs around the world. Earthquakes as far away as Japan, Indonesia, and Chile have caused the water to slosh up the sides of the hole. This sloshing may even trigger spawning behavior in the fish. Needless to say, both fish and seismic activities are closely monitored by scientists.
If you’re interested in watching a short video showing how the 2019 Ridgecrest, CA earthquake affected the Devils Hole, check out https://www.nps.gov/media/video/view.htm?id=10BFE6E0-E94E-2768-0BCBA5F0756EA110
Our next point of interest was Crystal Reservoir, a 70 acre lake that supports lots of water birds. When we were there, we saw large numbers of ducks like Gadwall and Ruddy Ducks, along with gulls and shorebirds. I’ve seen photos of the reservoir looking really blue and clear, but the day we were there was quite windy, giving the water a milky color. Crystal Reservoir and nearby Crystal Marsh (which we didn’t go to) are two popular bird watching sites. Aside from the here, we didn’t see much wildlife on the refuge, just one really scruffy looking coyote and lots of the black Phainopepla.
Finally, we dropped by the Visitor’s Center and its adjacent boardwalk. Here you can really see the alkaline desert floor which is made up of salts and other dissolved minerals from a long ago dried up lake. The boardwalk takes you to more springs, streams, and marshes running through the dry desert while protecting the fragile species that live there. The Visitor Center is a very nice facility and the boardwalk makes for an easy, interesting stroll.
Ash Meadows is not a high traffic park, so we often had the sites all to ourselves. Still, if you’re in the area and you don’t mind the dirt roads, it’s worth a visit. It’s a true oasis in the Mojave Desert. Now on to THE Death Valley National Park.
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