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First of all, rest assured... there is diving
in this area. From April to November, Midwest Aquatics schedules
trips to Table Rock
Lake. Everyone spends the weekend diving, eating, and sleeping
on a large houseboat. Table Rock Lake offers decent (for the
Midwest) visibility - typically 15 to 20 feet. In the summer,
the water is quite warm until you descend below the thermocline
(~25 feet) where a full wetsuit, hood, and gloves make for a
more enjoyable dive. You mentioned dry suit diving. For deep
dives in the Midwest, we recommend a dry suit. If you do not
have your own, we have rental dry suits at Midwest Aquatics.
Table Rock Lake offers interesting topography with walls and
terraced ledges to depths beyond recreational limits. There
is a sunken ferry boat, a sunken house boat, and a couple of
cabin cruisers to practice wreck diving on. For an interesting
deep dive (dry suit recommended), there is a bridge that was
left in place when the lake was formed. The bridge deck is at
125 feet. There are also fish, crawdads, and submerged forests
to see. Table Rock Lake is a 4-1/2 hour drive from Midwest Aquatics.
One of my favorite local dive sites is Blue Water Lake (formerly
the Great Circle Mine) in Oronogo, MO. It is just over 2 hours
driving time from Midwest Aquatics. It is a flooded quarry with
13 acres surface area. It is an excellent place for technical
diving and training but it is also a great place for new divers
and students. With a series of roads that were used when the
mine was active, it is possible to find a dive site with a firm
rock bottom at virtually any depth you desire. There is a sunken
airplane, cars, concrete statuary, and other points of interest
typical of quarry diving all over the world. There is an air
fill station on the premises and the owner charges $10 for a
full day of diving access.
Lake Oronogo
Captain John's Blue Water Lake Page
About the same distance from KC as Oronogo is Stockton Lake. Stockton Lake
does not offer the visibility of Table Rock or Oronogo but diving is free of
charge and it is only a two hour drive from Midwest Aquatics. Some
instructors use Stockton Lake for
training but we prefer Oronogo or Table Rock Lake.
South of St. Louis and about a 5 hour drive from KC is Bonne
Terre mine. It is advertised in major dive magazines and offers
an opportunity to dive in an underground mine. While the entire
dive is underground, it is not cave diving. You can surface
at any time and there is 70 feet of air between the water surface
and the roof of the mine. Water temperature is 58 degrees year
round and visibility is excellent. Permanent lighting is installed
and you can stay in the restored railroad depot or in a dormitory
style bunkhouse. Their website is www.2dive.com.
If you are interested in cave diving there are
water filled caves in central Missouri. The most frequently dived caves are
Cannonball and Roubideaux. Both get very deep, very quickly and are cold
with limited visibility except after a long dry spell. The cave zone
(beyond site of the natural light from the entrance) is for fully trained,
equipped, and experienced cave divers only. There is a limited cavern zone
(within site of the natural light from the entrance) but an experienced
guide and cavern diver certification is required.
There are many lakes closer to KC but they (as well as the lakes on the
Kansas side) are mud bottomed and visibility is near zero. You need to get
into Missouri and go south where the lake bottoms are limestone for good
visibility. There are rivers (the Missouri River) in the area but only
search and rescue teams dive there. It is "black water" diving (by touch
and feel only).
The best known lake in the area is the Lake of the Ozarks. If
you can find an area with a gravel bottom, visibility is comparable
to Table Rock Lake but most of the lake offers poor visibility.
Also, the Lake of the Ozarks is probably the most crowded lake
in Missouri and you need to be aware of boat traffic. Stick
to the coves, display a dive flag, and listen for boats before
you ascend! |
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