Quarry Diving -- What is Fresh Water Like?

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Mr Carcharodon

Contributor
Messages
1,408
Reaction score
240
Location
Southern California
# of dives
500 - 999
Could some of you who live inland tell me about quarry diving, and lakes? Why do you do it, what do you see, what is the aquatic life like, what is the best part, what is a typical dive like? I’d really like to know. In my 600+ dives I have done exactly two dives in fresh water (Lake Castaic in Los Angeles County) so fresh water is a relatively unknown sphere for me. Diving Lake Tahoe in the Sierras is on my bucket list -- someday.
 
That's a huge question. There are mines, quarries, lakes and springs over most of the planet. I've been in quarries with a water temperature of 38, and lakes where it is 88. As you travel, seek the advice of local divers as to conditions. Here in Florida we have fresh water and ocean diving close by and most divers enjoy both.
 
While I have not dove a quary per se. I have spent some time in FW. For me. Local lake here in Oklahoma. Tenkiller. I have seen many fish there as well as a Bus, a few boats, a plane. There is allegedly a flooded town there that you can find.

I recently dove the Blue Hole in New Mexico. We saw many crawfish and a few goldfish. It was cold.
 
I live in Quebec (Canada) and we have a few quarries to dive. The visibility is awesome, we have one with turquoise water, just like the caribeans, but close to home. Very nice rock formations, it really feels like being on the moon. There are some artifacts that have been placed there for the joy of the divers (old cars, boats, airplanes, fake sharks, etc). There is, however, no life, no plants, no fishes. And it's cold, about 40F at best :)
 
Could some of you who live inland tell me about quarry diving, and lakes? Why do you do it, what do you see, what is the aquatic life like, what is the best part, what is a typical dive like? I’d really like to know. In my 600+ dives I have done exactly two dives in fresh water (Lake Castaic in Los Angeles County) so fresh water is a relatively unknown sphere for me. Diving Lake Tahoe in the Sierras is on my bucket list -- someday.

Perhaps you should dive in the N Florida Springs, or the Mexican cenotes, instead.

The water is clear, unlike most lakes.
 
I live in Quebec (Canada) and we have a few quarries to dive. The visibility is awesome, we have one with turquoise water, just like the caribeans, but close to home. Very nice rock formations, it really feels like being on the moon. There are some artifacts that have been placed there for the joy of the divers (old cars, boats, airplanes, fake sharks, etc). There is, however, no life, no plants, no fishes. And it's cold, about 40F at best :)

Thank you. I used to live in upstate New York prior to being a diver. Lake Ontario near Toronto is another goal dive. I'll bring the dry suit, although 50F is about as low as I have to deal with in the Pacific.
 
Diving in lakes and Quarries is good Most Quarries have things brought in (like planes, boats , Busses )as for fish life you will see carp ,,strip bass big mouth/small mouth bass, blue gill, catfish, some will have paddle fish . lakes you may have things that sank accidently or things that were sank for divers . some times there are old towns that were flooded when the reservoirs were formed. And there you can see native fish life . I have swam in underwater forests that can be really spooky and lots of things you can get tangled in , branches monofiliment fishing line ....ect. In both Quarrier and lake when you get in to the deeper depths it can and does get dark the deeper the darker . Viz will really depend on time of year and the make up of the body of water. Spring fed quarries tend to have better viz between 15' and 30'+vi. other quarries and lakes can go from 1' to 30'+viz. If you can get comfortable diving in lake and quarries w/ low viz . a sudden change in good viz will not greatly affect you
 
Some are great. I've dove Gilboa quarry in Ohio many times: tons of fish, sunken jet and Sikorsky helicopter, depths to 140', reasonable vis, but quite cold. Some quarries however, are real s#!t holes.
 
Could some of you who live inland tell me about quarry diving, and lakes? Why do you do it, what do you see, what is the aquatic life like, what is the best part, what is a typical dive like? I’d really like to know. In my 600+ dives I have done exactly two dives in fresh water (Lake Castaic in Los Angeles County) so fresh water is a relatively unknown sphere for me. Diving Lake Tahoe in the Sierras is on my bucket list -- someday.

We have both fresh and salt local diving and enjoy both.

Fresh water is often about what you can find since artifacts abound. The ocean tends to pulverize stuff. Cold fresh water is also a good preservative. The ocean on the other hand can be more about what you can see, terrain, plants and critters. We have more life and color in the ocean.

In fresh water the salty taste is missing, I find that really noticeable.

Plan on 4-6 pounds of extra weight for the same gear.

Thermoclines in fresh water on a warm summer day can be astounding.

Commercial dive quarries are an odd bird. Man made props and many fish lacking predators make them friendly and often trained to seek a handout. Those places are unique experiences even if not entirely natural.

Visibility is all over the place. There is a very good chance of nighttime darkness at mid-day if you go down a thermocline or 2.

I find the fish are more approachable in fresh water. Even in true open water sites.

Cleaning gear is a whole lot easier.

As long as you're neutral it's all good!

Pete
 
Of my 550 or so dives, over 300 have been at a few local quarries. For me it is a matter of traveling 1- 3 hrs to dive freshwater versus 8- 10 hr drive for the nearest saltwater. I have probably well over 250 dives in 1 quarry alone. While I would not rank quarry diving in the top 10 of the dive sites I've been to, it IS diving. If nothing else, I will work on skills that need polishing or just putz around & blow bubbles. I do love to show new divers around. Overall the quarries tend, but are not always, a bit cold, dark (when deep) & murky. I have seen the vis in my "home" quarry anywhere from 50+ ft to less than 5 ft. Brail (low vis) diving can be very interesting in the aspects of navigaion, orientation & buddy/ team awareness. The water tends to layer up by temperature (thermoclines). In the warmest part of the year, the water temperature can be 80- 85, at 30 ft about 60 degrees, at 45 ft it drops into the low 50's & below 60 ft it is typically 42 degrees year round. You must guage your exposure protection for the temperature of the depth you're going to. When at depth, a light is handy to see by & to signal with. Though it is not completely dark & your eyes can adjust to it, it is rather dim. Because it is a rather harsh environment down deep, it is a chance for me to really hone my skills in one of the worst environments possible (the only thing really lacking for a challenge, is currents). Because it is fresh water you do not need as much weight (about 4 lbs less) & you do not have to be quite as concerned about rinsing your gear, as you do with saltwater. Most of the diving we do is shore based. The quarry I dive in most ranges in depth from wade in to about 110 ft deep. There is a shallow area (about 1/3 of the quarry area) with all kinds of things sunken in it (a yatch, helicopter fuselage, school bus, van, RV, motorcycle, several training platforms, a navigation course.... & more) the deep end has some things also (several large boats, a van, some Gold Line in place to practice line following techniques, a 100 ft deep training platform & a deep navigation course). There's plenty to do if you want to do it. For me it is a matter of economics & convenience, as I can not travel to the coast on a regular basis.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

Back
Top Bottom