# Where the devil have you been? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 22, 2012, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-devil-have-you-been/619566 "2012-04-22T07:25:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Darryl\_Lict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/7cd45c/32.png) [@Darryl\_Lict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darryl_Lict)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-devil-have-you-been/619566/1 "2012-04-22T07:25:22Z")
I’ve just gotten back from an awesome trip to Death Valley. I haven’t been there since I was a kid. It is really stunning and anyone who has a chance should go and visit. The winds can get to ridiculous speeds and blew out my tent poles. In any case, there are at least two things named for the devil there. There’s the Devil’s Golf Course, which is an awesome salt lake bed of treacherous lumps and the Devil’s Cornfield which is drought tolerant bunches of weeds in a sandy plain. I’ve also been to Devil’s Postpile in Mammoth Lakes, a spectacular formation of basalt columns. I’ve been to the Devil’s Punchbowl on the Oregon coast. I may or may not have been to the Devil’s Punchbowl north of LA when I was a kid. I’ve been to Mt. Diablo and the boundary of Diablo Canyon where the nuclear plant is (from Montana de Oro State Park). So, have you ever been to some place named after the devil? ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 8:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-devil-have-you-been/619566/2 "2012-04-22T08:01:13Z")
I’ve been to: Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina Spuyten Duyvil - a section of the Bronx, NYC. There is a popular misconception that the name derives from the Dutch meaning “in spite of the devil” but more likely translates as “spinning devil” or “the devil’s whirlpool.” Devil’s Den - a nature preserve in Connecticut. Random fact: Keith Richards property abuts the preserve and he often takes walls there through his own private gate. ---
**Author:** ![Malacandra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 8:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-devil-have-you-been/619566/3 "2012-04-22T08:03:52Z")
There’s another Devil’s Punch Bowl near Hindhead, Surrey, England. I used to drive through it twice weekly for a couple of years in the 1990s. Hindhead is now bypassed by a tunnel so the A3 doesn’t go through the DPB any more. ---
**Author:** ![Turek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/turek/32/18782_2.png) [@Turek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Turek)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-devil-have-you-been/619566/4 "2012-04-22T11:00:20Z")
I’ve been to the Devil’s Playground in Colorado Springs and the Devil’s Garden in Arches National Park. On the same trip, no less. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2012, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-devil-have-you-been/619566/5 "2012-04-22T14:05:23Z")
Hell’s Canyon on the Snake River. Hells Canyon on the Rogue River. Devil’s Tower in Wyoming. Devil’s Punch Bowl, Oregon. Devil’s Lake, North Dakota. Helena, Montana. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-devil-have-you-been/619566/6 "2012-04-23T05:00:47Z")
A couple of weeks ago I visited “[Hellhole Canyon](http://www.modernhiker.com/2007/10/29/anza-borrego-desert-state-park-hellhole-canyon/),” a hiking trail that goes up into the mountains near Borrego, California. (There’s a lovely waterfall, about three miles up the trail. Warning, it’s a very rough trail!) I also like to hike up the Eagle Peak Road, to gaze upon John Dye Falls, which plunges off of “[The Devil’s Jump Off](http://ramona.patch.com/articles/devils-jump-off-is-a-dramatic-sight).” Just for equal time, I recently climbed Calavera Hill, in Carlsbad, California (on Easter weekend, no less) and, alas, found it to be a bit of a _via dolorosa…_ ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 5:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-devil-have-you-been/619566/7 "2012-04-23T05:20:59Z")
[Devil’s Den](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil's_Den) at Gettysburg Devils Den Road in Altona, NY Spuyten Duyvil in NYC ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 9:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-devil-have-you-been/619566/8 "2012-04-23T09:52:42Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > Devil’s Den - a nature preserve in Connecticut. Random fact: Keith Richards property abuts the preserve and he often takes walls there through his own private gate. That would be so awesome and so appropriate to bump into Keith Richards taking a stroll through the Devil’s Den! ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-devil-have-you-been/619566/9 "2012-04-23T12:37:57Z")
I’ve been to [Hell](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hell,_Michigan). ---
**Author:** ![Sparky812](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Sparky812](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sparky812)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 12:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-devil-have-you-been/619566/10 "2012-04-23T12:41:36Z")
Nevermind ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2012, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-devil-have-you-been/619566/11 "2012-04-23T12:49:11Z")
_Aut Caesar aut Diaboli_, wrote Sir Richard Burton, probably quoting someobody famous, or a famous anonymous quotation. “Either Caesar or the Devil”, meaning that weird geological formations seem to be named for either Caesar or the Devil. It’;s not really true, because I can give plenty of counterexamples, but the Devil certainly gets his due. I’ve probably seen others, but the Devil’s Slide is the one that stands out in my head. I saw it marked on a road map and drove by it while I was living in Salt Lake City: [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/2583/3809550592_25209030bb_b.jpg "Devil") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/62035662@N00/3809550592/) > **[GeoSights: Devils Slide, Morgan County, Utah - Utah Geological Survey](https://geology.utah.gov/map-pub/survey-notes/geosights/devils-slide/)** > > Why take your kids to an ordinary playground slide at the park, when you can go to the slide named after the Devil himself? Unfortunately for sliders, Devils Slide is not a real slide, but an unusual geologic feature found in northern Utah. [http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?\_adv\_prop=image&fr=yfp-t-701&va=Devil's+Slide+Utah](http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?_adv_prop=image&fr=yfp-t-701&va=Devil%27s+Slide+Utah) > **[Devil's Slide (Utah)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil%27s_Slide_(Utah))** > > .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct,.mw-parser-output .geo-inline-hidden{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}41°03′49″N 111°32′53″W / 41.06361°N 111.54806°W / 41.06361; -111.54806 > Devil's Slide is a geological formation located near the border of Wyoming in northern Utah's Weber Canyon, near the community of C... ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-devil-have-you-been/619566/12 "2012-04-24T14:05:25Z")
In Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho, the Devil has an entire Orchard. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-devil-have-you-been/619566/13 "2012-04-24T14:22:02Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > That would be so awesome and so appropriate to bump into Keith Richards taking a stroll through the Devil’s Den! Well, he does have a lot of sympathy for him. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-devil-have-you-been/619566/14 "2012-04-24T14:29:47Z")
A couple of “Devil’s Punchbowl” waterfalls: San Diego County(nickname for Cedar Creek Falls in the east county) and Arthur’s Pass in New Zealand. Devil’s Playground (Kelso Dunes) in the Mojave Preserve. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-devil-have-you-been/619566/15 "2012-04-24T15:21:46Z")
> [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](#): > > In Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho, the Devil has an entire Orchard. Hey, I’ve been there! And you’re right: what a surreal landscape. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-devil-have-you-been/619566/16 "2012-04-24T15:45:09Z")
Astoria Park under the Hell’s Gate bridge. The Hell Hole–[a ride so dangerous it severs limbs and puts people in comas](http://articles.nydailynews.com/1995-07-30/news/17989659_1_ride-coney-island-severed) in Coney Island. I have also been to Spuyten Duyvil in The Bronx AND a bar in Brooklyn. ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-devil-have-you-been/619566/17 "2012-04-24T15:51:38Z")
I’ve walked on [the Devil’s Backbone](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natchez_Trace) a number of times, and have reflected wryly on the implications of having been born in the city at its lower end. ---
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-devil-have-you-been/619566/18 "2012-04-24T15:55:16Z")
I haven’t been there, but the [door to hell](http://media.treehugger.com/assets/images/2011/10/door-to-hell2.jpg) deserves a mention ---
**Author:** ![Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/a587f6/32.png) [@Freddy\_the\_Pig](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freddy_the_Pig)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-devil-have-you-been/619566/19 "2012-04-24T16:07:47Z")
In addition to his other holdings in Death Valley, the devil has a [Hole](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devils_Hole) which houses a rare pupfish. It’s quite remote and I haven’t been there. So what do we know about the Devil? He seems to be quite the land baron. He has a golf course, an orchard, a corn field, a garden, several dens, a hole, a playground with a slide, a tower, and a lake. And, he seems inordinately fond of punch bowls. His wedding guests clearly blew off the register, because so far as I know there is not a single Devil’s Blender. ---
**Author:** ![Desert\_Nomad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desert_nomad/32/177_2.png) [@Desert\_Nomad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Desert_Nomad)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-devil-have-you-been/619566/20 "2012-04-24T16:24:18Z")
I’ve driven over Hell’s Backbone on Utah highway 12. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/where-the-devil-have-you-been/619566.md?page=2)