Welcome to the Amargosa Pupfish Station

USFWS Photo

The Amargosa Pupfish Station is located approximately 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas in the Amargosa Valley of southern Nye County, Nevada. The facility consists of two man-made pools within the Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge: one near Point of Rocks and another east of the Refuge Headquarters. The Pupfish Station was developed to provide secure and safe environments (Refugia) for the endangered Devil's Hole pupfish (Cyprinodon diabolis). Devil's Hole pupfish were listed as Endangered in 1967 due to rapidly declining water levels within Devil's Hole. Further protection was provided by the Supreme Court's 1976 decision (Cappert vs. U.S.) which mandated a reduction in local ground water pumping to an amount which assures the maintenance of a minimum water level within Devil's Hole to meet the needs of this species.

Devil’s Hole, a small water-filled limestone cavern, is the only natural habitat for the Devil’s Hole pupfish. Although located within Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, the area is administered by the National Park Service as part of Death Valley National Park. The water depth of Devil’s Hole is several hundred feet deep. However, most of the pupfish persist on a small shallow shelf which provides critical feeding and spawning habitat. A few pupfish do venture as far as 90 feet deep within the pool, which is roughly the limit that sunlight penetrates. The water temperature in Devils’ Hole remains a constant 92 degress Fahrenheit year round.