underwater city in South Carolina

[carmensandiego]

At a party, someone briefly mentioned to me there's a place in South Carolina with an abandoned city, now submerged underwater, that divers can check out? Does anyone know what/where this place is?

I have not been able to Google my way through this, and asking people who have actually been there might yield more pointed useful information i.e. watch out for gators, best time of year to go, etc etc. Thanks in advance.

 

[Rob9876]

There may actually be more than one, as there are a number of man-made lakes in the region, but they are probably referring to Lake Jocassee. There's a dive shop there that runs charters, and among interesting items from the town under water, there is the graveyard that was featured in the movie "Deliverance".

Sounds like there's generally pretty good viz, though perhaps a bit chilly at depth. I believe the graveyard may be a few feet deeper than recreational dive limits, depending on lake water levels. I believe there are also a couple of other lakes in the area that are popular for diving.

 

[Doc]

 

[carmensandiego]

oh nope, nope, nope, I can only dive 30 feet thankyouverymuch, there's enough horror on land as it is.

 

[carmensandiego]

There may actually be more than one, as there are a number of man-made lakes in the region, but they are probably referring to Lake Jocassee. There's a dive shop there that runs charters, and among interesting items from the town under water, there is the graveyard that was featured in the movie "Deliverance".

Sounds like there's generally pretty good viz, though perhaps a bit chilly at depth. I believe the graveyard may be a few feet deeper than recreational dive limits, depending on lake water levels. I believe there are also a couple of other lakes in the area that are popular for diving.

Thanks for these recommendations!! I also found out about the submerged city of Ferguson, South Carolina, but doesn't seem like shops lead dives for that place.

Yikes, I'm seeing Jocassee is 4 hours away from Charleston. I'm already S.O.L. trying to find a place to dive on short notice for just Monday right before Fourth of July, so I'll have to wait for the next time.

I'm realizing I need to take into account my depth limitations - I can only go as far as 30 feet. Part of me was hoping whatever SC sunken city that would be within that range.

 

[Rob9876]

I'm realizing I need to take into account my depth limitations - I can only go as far as 30 feet. Part of me was hoping whatever SC sunken city that would be within that range.

Why only 30 feet? That may make it difficult finding much diving nearby. I'd guess the "attractions" at most quarries are on the bottom, usually over 30 feet. I'm also thinking most diving off of the Carolinas is a bit deeper than that. Off the top of my head, for that depth I'm thinking jetty dives in the FL Panhandle, some shore dives (like Blue Heron Bridge) in SE FL, and I believe there are a good bit of reefs near Key Largo that are about that depth.

 

[formernuke]

Why are you limited to 30 feet?

 

[carmensandiego]

Why only 30 feet? That may make it difficult finding much diving nearby. I'd guess the "attractions" at most quarries are on the bottom, usually over 30 feet. I'm also thinking most diving off of the Carolinas is a bit deeper than that. Off the top of my head, for that depth I'm thinking jetty dives in the FL Panhandle, some shore dives (like Blue Heron Bridge) in SE FL, and I believe there are a good bit of reefs near Key Largo that are about that depth.

I'm only Open Water certified (so not Advanced...at least not yet) and have only experience with max 30 feet depth. It was kind of random, but when friends started inviting me to a bunch of road trips across the South this year ("revenge traveling" now that its post-pandemic, or whatever the media is calling it) I figured hey maybe I can try scuba diving per state.

I had a great time in Tennessee and the quarry I went to there was AMAZING. Not too deep at all, most of it felt like 30-40 feet range. I was able to maintain good buoyancy, and it had fantastic visibility (for a quarry, I've been to worse). So that kind of sold me on the merits of quarry diving/inland-water diving.

I certainly ought to check out Florida next.

 

[terrydive1]

Thanks for these recommendations!! I also found out about the submerged city of Ferguson, South Carolina, but doesn't seem like shops lead dives for that place.

Yikes, I'm seeing Jocassee is 4 hours away from Charleston. I'm already S.O.L. trying to find a place to dive on short notice for just Monday right before Fourth of July, so I'll have to wait for the next time.

I'm realizing I need to take into account my depth limitations - I can only go as far as 30 feet. Part of me was hoping whatever SC sunken city that would be within that range.

It's been probably 15 years since I dove the area around the old Ferguson lumber mill (Lake Marion), but all I remember seeing underwater were remnants of an old loading dock there. Visibility was probably around 5' at best and has most likely not changed since. We put our boat in at Ferguson Landing Way and I remember the skeg dragging a lot on the short journey there. If I was to dive it again I would use a kayak as the dive platform. Lake Moultrie has also rumored to have underwater towns, but a few books later and two decades of diving there personally I have yet to find any old structure in there. Besides the known sites at Lake Jocassee, you might also want to check into Lake Murray. I believe Scuba Johns Dive Shop runs charters to underwater structures there (although they may be beyond your depth limit). As far as I know, no one runs dive charters on either Lake Marion or Moultrie.

 

[tarponchik]

This may be the cemetery cite in Lake Jocassee, but it is deep. I do not dive it because I am superstitious, but if you are interested, call Lake Jocassee Dive Shop.