Repurposed mine offers deep-earth diving in landlocked Missouri

Stories from underwater

Diver Travis Marshall prepares to ascend the second of two ladders found on one of the advanced trails at Bonne Terre Mine.
Diver Travis Marshall prepares to ascend the second of two ladders found on one of the advanced trails at Bonne Terre Mine.

Scuba diving in Missouri? If you think it's impossible, you've never heard about Bonne Terre Mine.

Heading to the coast is not necessary to experience underwater life - you can easily scuba dive in the middle of the United States. Follow U.S. 67 into southeast Missouri, and you'll find yourself in the town of Bonne Terre, where a former mining site has become an underground lake used for scuba diving.

From 1860 to 1962, Bonne Terre Mine was known as the St. Joe lead mine, one of the largest producers of lead ore. When the mine closed in 1962, groundwater poured in, filling five levels of the former miners' paths, engulfing the mine and creating the biggest underground lake in the world - fittingly called Billion Gallons Lake.

Owners Doug and Catherine Goergens in 1978 developed the mine as it is today.

"It was a dream of ours after discovering this abandoned mine. We have expanded the history of what it was," said Doug Goergens. "We developed the walking tours, lake boat tours and underwater dive tours offering the tourist the adventure of discovering the historic mining era in ways never done before."

The Goergens, already owners of West End Diving, have been in the scuba business since reinventing the mine in 1970s.

"The development of the mine was a huge undertaking, from the physical development to the human resources necessary to safely operate both above and beneath the water and convey the history of the mine," Goergens said.

This unique place caught Jacques Cousteau's attention in 1984. The French filmmaker, explorer and diver has always been interested in filming the underwater world, and no place could have been more appropriate than Billion Gallons Lake.

"It was the dream of a lifetime," Goergens said. "His endorsement of the mine made us a worldwide diving destination."

Cousteau's attention is not the only remarkable one. In fact, Bonne Terre Mine is considered among the top 10 American adventure destinations listed by National Geographic.

It's understandable why the tourist appeal of the mine is so high.

"As the tourism increased, we purchased the Bonne Terre train depot built by St. Joe lead mine in 1909. It was abandoned and had been condemned," Goergens explained. "We totally restored the depot and brought in train cars and a caboose, which became suites for the addition to the depot bed and breakfast" - a nice place to sleep for tourists who spend a weekend at the mine. The depot is the most photographed building in St. Francois County due to its architectural beauty and has joined the Bonne Terre Mine as a national historic site.

Old mule trails guide visitors through giant man-carved pillars in the rock that hold the ceiling to explore the surface levels of the mine. The walking path ends at a dock, where the old mine is flooded with the waters of the 17-mile-long underground lake. From here, scuba divers start their explorations.

"Most scuba is conducted between 40-80 feet. And there are a lot of places still unexplored," Goergens said. "When diving, you can see giant vistas as if swimming through the legs of dinosaurs. All of the ancient mining equipment remains, along with the buildings, workshops, office, movie theater, locker rooms and even a locomotive."

Able swimmers can enjoy this underwater experience, but it does require preparation, including scuba certification. Beginning divers start with Open Water Certification, which consists of a three-hour online course, two class sessions in a pool and two open-water sessions. West End Diving and Bonne Terre Mine offer classes the first two weekends of every month.

Scuba instructors suggest that when preparing for a dive trip, you should make a reservation at your dive destination. They will answer any questions about the diving environment, required certifications and equipment. At Bonne Terre Mine, there are 50 trails dived consecutively starting at Trail 1, with diving depths of 40-80 feet. The water temperature is a constant 65 degrees. Bonne Terre Mine's dives are led by guides, and a typical dive lasts 40-50 minutes.

You also should consider equipment ahead of time - if you don't own the right equipment yourself, you can rent it locally or at the dive destination. To stay underwater for a long time, you need everything that allows you to breathe: a regulator, alternate regulator, dive computer, buoyancy compensator, scuba air tank, mask, snorkel, fins and boots, as well as a suit appropriate for cold or warm water.

Scuba diving at Bonne Terre is possible during all seasons: "The weather never changes in the mine. The temperature is a constant 65 degrees Fahrenheit, and visibility is always 100 foot-plus," Goergens said.

Every June, the underground lake hosts a treasure dive, which draws more than 300 divers from across the world.

For non-divers, Bonne Terre Mine offers one-hour boat and walking tours through its mining history. For more information, visit the mine's website at 2dive.com.