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What is Devils Hole in Nevada?

Devils Hole is a tectonic cave developed in the discharge zone of a regional aquifer in south-central Nevada. The walls of this predominantly subaqueous (underwater) cavern are coated with dense vein calcite that precipitated from groundwater moving through the cavern. The stable isotopic content of the calcite provides a 500,000-year record of variations in temperature and other climate conditions. The data collected at Devils Hole has been an important contribution to our understanding of the onset and duration of ice ages, and has spurred renewed interest in using cave deposits as archives of paleoclimate.

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