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Pacific Earthquake Generates Larger Waves At Death Valley National Park Than At Coastal States

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Published Date

January 25, 2018

Devils Hole pupfish at Death Valley National Park were rattled, but apparently not harmed, by a seiche created by an earthquake off coastal Alaska/NPS file photo

While a powerful earthquake off the coast of Alaska generated a tsunami wave just 8 inches high, at Devils Hole in Death Valley National Park a foot-high wave was generated, according to park officials.

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 January 23.  Minutes later, the earthquake’s impact was felt about 2,000 miles away in the Nevada desert.

“It’s crazy that distant earthquakes affect Devils Hole,” said Kevin Wilson, aquatic ecologist for Death Valley National Park. “We’ve seen this a few times before, but it still amazes me.”

The phenomenon is technically known as a seismic seiche, park staff explained. "They are standing waves in an enclosed body of water (such as a lake or a pool) caused by an earthquake’s seismic waves."

“That sounds a lot like a tsunami,” said Wilson, “but tsunamis are caused by an earthquake moving the ocean floor up or down. Tsunamis can generate much larger waves.”

Devils Hole is a water-filled limestone cave in Amargosa Valley, Nevada. It is part of the national park. The site is the only natural habitat of the critically endangered Devils Hole pupfish, which numbered only 115 fish in the most recent survey.

The park isn’t too concerned about the quake’s impact on the fish.

“The pupfish’s food source will probably be a little reduced for a bit, but it is expected to rebound,” said Ambre Chaudoin, biological science technician. A primary component of the pupfish’s diet is algae growing on a shallow sunlit shelf at the top of Devils Hole.

Chaudoin observed the fish spawning after the seiche, which she said is their normal reaction to events that disturb the habitat. The fish’s color changed for spawning, with the males gaining a brilliant blue color. Devils Hole pupfish normally only spawn in spring and fall.  

The following video was made in March 2012 during a similar event.

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