Get DISH Cable TV Programming in Ellensburg, WA

If your town had a ravine that was 80,000 feet deep, you'd know about it, right?

Maybe. Maybe not. It turns out, Ellensburg might just have one.

The ravine may or may not exist in a tract out west of the city, toward but still not quite to Manastash Ridge. The ravine is being called Mel's Hole, named after one of the first people to get attention from talking about the place. Mel Waters called in to Art Bell's radio show, Coast to Coast, in 1997 and claimed to have lowered line after line of 5,000-foot rope into this ravine without reaching the bottom. He said his dogs were pretty freaked out, too.

Since the radio interview that got people talking, only a few more people claim to have found it. One of the most outspoken is the shaman Red Elk, whose claims are bolder than Mel's and include references to black beams, aliens, and disappearances. Most that hear the legend are skeptical, including geology professors at Central Washington and longtime Ellensburg locals who've never even heard of the pit.

Whether you're a firm believer, firm unbeliever, or somewhere in between, it can be fascinating to think through unexplained mysteries and tussle with existential questions about facts, fiction, and how humanity figures out the difference.

To explore even more curiosities, try watching shows such as Ancient Aliens (A&E) or Alien Encounters (SCI) on DISH TV—or choose NCIS instead for a much less ambiguous case of whodunit.