We recently moved down the street to a house in a neighborhood that comes complete with its own private quarry. (Navigate in Google Earth to "Quarry Lake, Columbia, Missouri.) My daughters and I gave the quarry our first try this morning. While my trio played on the surface, I briefly checked things out below the surface using only simple gear (swim trunks, tee shirt, snorkeling gear, Poseidon reg on a steel 72 mounted on a SS Freedom plate with Hal Pioneer 27, orally inflated).
I understand that this historic quarry supplied much of the block/brick limestone that can be seen on the older "white campus" buildings on the University of Missouri-Columbia campus.
A new level of dark water! I was surprised!! A
lot of suspended particles (algae?) in this bucolic, spring-fed quarry lake. The sky was only slightly overcast, and even though I was diving in late morning (~11:00 a.m.), sunlight was unable to penetrate very deep and was blacked out almost completely at 10 ffw where there is a thermocline.
Trees and branches, evidently having fallen over time from the top of the tall bluff, reach up from the quarry floor at the base of the tall bluff. The branches are only barely visible as you descent to ~8 ffw.
I have been told by one longtime Columbia resident that the lake is no deeper than 12 ffw, and by another that the lake is "
very deep" in places. Needless to say, I, wearing only my basic scuba gear, chose not to get to the bottom of this. (Pun intended.) I'll return soon wearing an exposure suit and redundancy and lights and a compass (!!) and reel (!!) and explore further.
Safe Diving,
rx7diver
