Devil’s Sinkhole State Natural Area has perhaps one of the spookiest names among the state parks. Despite its name, this natural area has a lot to offer. Visit the Devil’s Sinkhole for unforgettable lessons in geology and nature.
Nature
Devil’s Sinkhole State Natural Area: Not as Scary as Its Name Sounds
By |
Park History
Photo: Facebook/Devil’s Sinkhole State Natural Area – Texas Parks and Wildlife
Though the State of Texas owned the land since 1985, the Devil’s Sinkhole has only been opened to the public since 1992. This helps to maintain its natural state. A single, ancient dart point provides the earliest evidence of humans at the site, placing them there between 2500 and 4000 BC. Unfortunately, tourists to the area for the last hundred and fifty years have taken away as souvenirs many of the other pieces of evidence of early visitors to the site. Recorded history shows Anglo settlers found the location in 1876, and since, people have come to the site, drawn by the mysteriously deep cavern and the millions of bats it houses.
Creation of the Sinkhole
Photo: Facebook/Devil’s Sinkhole State Natural Area – Texas Parks and Wildlife
Sinkholes proliferate in limestone soils, like that of the Texas Hill Country. Since limestone has a very weak structure, even slightly acidic rain can dissolve it, creating an underground cavern. Over the years, the cavities created by dissolved limestone can have their roofs cave in, resulting in a sinkhole. This happened to Devil’s Sinkhole. The sinkhole measures 40 feet by 60 feet at the opening and has a vertical plunge to the main cave of 140 feet. But the main portion of the cavern itself drops to 400 feet. This unique cave design supports rare plant and animal life such as freshwater crustaceans and Mexican ferns.
Things to Do
Photo: Facebook/Devil’s Sinkhole State Natural Area – Texas Parks and Wildlife
The Devil’s Sinkhole is operated by the private group the Devil’s Sinkhole Society. Though this group books bat flight admissions, they also host bird and nature walks in the park. The park has picnic tables if you’d like to bring a lunch. And while touring the area, keep your eyes open for some of the unique plants seen only in the Texas Hill Country’s Edwards Plateau. These include escarpment black cherry and pinon pines.
Bat Flights
Photo: Facebook/Devil’s Sinkhole State Natural Area – Texas Parks and Wildlife
The main reason most people visit this park is to see the millions of bats emerge from the cave each night from May through October. Book your bat flight viewing in advance with the Devil’s Sinkhole Society. Don’t miss this chance to see one of Texas’s largest Mexican free-tailed bat colonies emerge from the cave.
References:
