National Park Service
This photo provided by the National Park Service shows critically endangered pupfish at Devils Hole in Death Valley National Park.
Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2018 | 3:47 p.m.
The impact of a powerful earthquake Tuesday off Alaska was felt more than 2,000 miles away, where it stirred up a water-filled cave at Death Valley National Park that is home to the critically endangered Devils Hole pupfish.
The magnitude 7.9 quake caused an 8-inch tsunami wave in the Pacific Ocean and waves of more than a foot in Devils Hole, a water-filled limestone cave about 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas. It is the only natural habitat to the pupfish.
The quake, which originated in the Gulf of Alaska, did not significantly impact the fish, which feed on algae, National Park Service officials said. In the most recent survey, there were 115 Devils Hole pupfish, officials said.
“The pupfish’s food source will probably be a little reduced for a bit, but it is expected to rebound,” biological science technician Ambre Chaudoin said in a news release.
“It’s crazy that distant earthquakes affect Devils Hole,” Kevin Wilson, aquatic ecologist for the park, said in the release. “We’ve seen this a few times before, but it still amazes me.”
The phenomenon, in which standing waves form in an enclosed body of water, is called a “seismic seiche,” officials said.
“That sounds a lot like a tsunami,” Wilson said. “But tsunamis are caused by an earthquake moving the ocean floor up or down. Tsunamis can generate much larger waves.”
