Cave Diving or Is It Mine Diving?

Missouri has  a very unique diving site that actually lies 1/4 mile below a town.

Bonne Terre mine, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, is an abandoned mine that is the largest man made caves in the world. Mining operation ceased in 1964 and the pumps were turned off. Well, mother nature took its course and filled a portion the cavernous mine with over 17-billions gallons of crystal clear water to form a navigable lake that is 17 miles long inside the mine.

The mine is currently operating as a tourist destination as well as a magnificent diving destination with 28 trails for recreational scuba diving. In addition, the owners are currently developing three more trails specifically for technical diving.

Read on for further details about this amazing dive location

Into the Abyss

Some of the underwater scenes in the movie The Abyss were filmed in these waters, so the mine has had its own bit of stardom. The chilly water in the mine fills 88 miles of passages while the surface has 17 miles of navigable shoreline, so there’s plenty of room to film your own movie…

You can see forever

Visibility is easily around 100 feet (30 m) with very little silt on the bottom to muck it up. While the deepest parts are over recreational limits, most dives are done between 40 and 60 feet (12 to 18 m)…

Swim through it

If you like tunnels and swim-throughs, interesting lighting arrangements, crystal-clear water, zero current and just relaxing while swimming under a town, then you should head to Bonne Terre. …

Read the full story here

Watch the following video to get a glimpse about what Bonne Terre is about