Looking for new quarries

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

Wondering if there are quarries and lakes in VA/MD area that have not been explored and developed for diving yet? Everyone goes to Rawlings, Millbrooks, Bainbridge and that one in Fredricksburg but there should be other bodies of water that give you sufficient depth (40 - 100 feet) that can be explored.

Any ideas / suggestions?

 

[tomfcrist]

Fantasy, gaston etc.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

There is already a scuba park at Fantasy. I was interested in something that has not been made commercially available yet.

 

[clydewilson41]

There are lots of abandoned quarries and mines around VA but searches dont show much. You could try the department of mines and see if they could give you info or just pick an area on google maps and looks for bodies of water that have no streams running to them. Remember if its on private property to get permission otherwise you're trespassing.

 

[clydewilson41]

Did a little digging on the VA department of mines site. Found an old report that lists the quarries that the state used for highway construction. report was dated 1960 so some of them have to have been shutdown by now. could be a good place to start.

https://www.dmme.virginia.gov/commercedocs/MRR_1.pdf

 

[abnfrog]

we are trying to open the quarry here its 315 at the deepest part but starts around 15 feet only a few people have dived it .. supposed to have dived it last weekend ............let you all know soon

 

[Knight_of_Avalon]

Have you dived Mt. Storm, in WV yet? About 45 minutes south of Deep Creek, MD, a local power plant dumps its heated waste water into the quarry. As a result, the water is fairly warm year round - one August, I saw surface temps of 93 degrees. It was like diving in bath water.

Mt. Storm used to be the go-to site for all the local dive schools, until it went boat-only. Still, there's a fully developed underwater area for diving - four platforms (2 at 25', 1 at 50', 1 at 90'), various things that have been submerged (such as the motorcycle of a now-deceased diver), and fairly tame catfish (bring hot dog chunks to feed 'em).

 

[tursiops]

Have you dived Mt. Storm, in WV yet? About 45 minutes south of Deep Creek, MD, a local power plant dumps its heated waste water into the quarry. As a result, the water is fairly warm year round - one August, I saw surface temps of 93 degrees. It was like diving in bath water.

Mt. Storm used to be the go-to site for all the local dive schools, until it went boat-only. Still, there's a fully developed underwater area for diving - four platforms (2 at 25', 1 at 50', 1 at 90'), various things that have been submerged (such as the motorcycle of a now-deceased diver), and fairly tame catfish (bring hot dog chunks to feed 'em).

Haven't dived there since 2011. You're asking for trouble now if you try and dive it from shore.

 

[CAPTAIN SINBAD]

I have heard of Mount Storm but I was interested in looking up a water body (with depth) that has not been ahem "commercialized" yet. This place is in need of a few local quarries and if a new quarry exists somewhere then its diving potential can be explored. I will have to look into the mining report that Clyde Wilson posted.

 

[mmadiver]

Also interested in this, other than Millbrooke there aren't many options for skills practice/gear shakeout in NOVA.