Diana's Punchbowl
| Diana's Punch Bowl | |
|---|---|
| Devil's Cauldron | |
| Location | Monitor Valley, Nye County, Nevada |
| Coordinates | 39°01′49″N 116°40′00″W / 39.03023°N 116.66656°WCoordinates: 39°01′49″N 116°40′00″W / 39.03023°N 116.66656°W |
| Elevation | 6,760 feet (2,060.4 m) |
| Type | hot spring |
| Temperature | 140.9 °F (60.5 °C) |
Diana's Punchbowl, also called the Devil's Cauldron, is a geothermal feature located on a small fault in Nye County, Nevada. The spring is exposed through a cup-shaped depression about 49 feet (15 m) in diameter at the top of a domelike hill of travertine about 600 feet (183 m) in diameter. Warm water in the pool of the bowl is about 30 feet (9 m) below the rim, while the top of the hill is about 75 feet (23 m) above the level of Monitor Valley.[1]
Geography
Near the geographic center of Nevada, Diana's Punchbowl or the Devil's Cauldron, is formed in the geothermically active portion of the Great Basin.[2] It is located in central-western Nevada, in the Monitor Valley, about 30 miles southeast of Austin, Nevada in Nye County. Diana's Punchbowl is just east of Monitor Valley Road about 9 miles south of Monitor Ranch. The bowl is at the top of a travertine hill. It is 50 feet across and 30 feet deep. The extreme water temperature of this feature has been observed from 140° to 180°F (60°-82°C).[3]
Access
Often listed as a hot spring on maps, it is not suitable for human bathing but is often considered by tourists to be beautiful to see. Located about 30 feet down in a perfectly round crater on a small hill, the azure-colored pool is boiling hot. A small stream runs north from the south side of the travertine hill.