anyone ever scuba dive & detect an old quarry bottom say 25-30ft deep?

[inspectorgadget]

There is an old quarry that is almost famous (was used in a movie in 1979). Was also the quarry the Empire State building limestone came from! This quarry was heavily used by swimmers & cliff divers in the 40's, 50's & early 60's.

In the later 60's it turned into a hippie, nudist hangout spot with lots of drugs & orgies going on there. It was made off limits by the owners & the police in the late 60's or early 70's but still to this day people swim & dive there just no big parties anymore. I've been to the quarry several times over the past 20 years & there is always some people back in it swimming & diving. The quarry was & still is frequented by locals & students (in the know) of the local university which is a big time school. The location of the quarry is very hidden, it's far from streets/roads & isn't well known to anybody outside of the small city its in.

Has anyone ever detected the bottom of a quarry still full of water, like 4ft deep up to 30ft or so deep with a solid rock (limestone) bottom. The water in this quarry is very clear & blue, definitely not murky or dirty water at all. Visibility is almost endless like at a pool, at least 25ft or more. I would bet no one has ever detected the bottom of this huge quarry & with the amount of traffic it once had I would think the bottom would hold a lot of items.

What's some input you guys have on this subject? Say I get permission from the owners (which I'm sure isn't impossible). With some scuba gear & a good submersible detector I think you could clean up especially in the deep areas (which is most of it). No digging would be involved because its a solid rock bottom with maybe some slight silt but not enough you would need to dig anything.

Any opinions, thoughts or tips?

 

[Beans]

What was the name of the movie?

 

[LM]

Any opinions, thoughts or tips?

It's the sort of place that has the potential to be productive.

Water detecting eliminates 99.9% of the competition. Full immersion eliminates the other 0.1%. This kind of water detecting is pretty much the last frontier of reliable, truly virgin MD grounds. There's a very good chance you'll be the first person down there with a MD. If it really was a swimming and diving hole for all those years and you're the first one to get down there with a machine, you're going to do well.

I'd also suggest a VLF with disc over a PI. It's going to be a trash pit either way.

 

[inspectorgadget]

What was the name of the movie?

Breaking Away

There were 3 scenes at the quarry & as a matter of fact the very beginning of the movie they are walking to the quarry talking, striping down & then jumping in it.

 

[inspectorgadget]

It's the sort of place that has the potential to be productive.

Water detecting eliminates 99.9% of the competition. Full immersion eliminates the other 0.1%. This kind of water detecting is pretty much the last frontier of reliable, truly virgin MD grounds. There's a very good chance you'll be the first person down there with a MD. If it really was a swimming and diving hole for all those years and you're the first one to get down there with a machine, you're going to do well.

I'd also suggest a VLF with disc over a PI. It's going to be a trash pit either way.

Oh it was a big time swim hole at one time, my mother attended the University & she & her friends visited the quarry on a regular basis during August thru mid Oct. & then again in late April thru May. This was in the early 60's before it got all crazy. There is real big trash in the quarry such as a few old 50's refrigerators but only near the edges. The water is so clear you can see anything big down in it. There is a spot where there is a 65FT cliff to jump from (the college kids even jumped from that spot in the movie I mentioned). Anyway I'm sure there are lots of cans & misc. BS on the bottom but like I said you can see the bottom & it doesn't look "littered" but of course any small objects would be very hard to see from above so I'm sure there is plenty of small trash down in it. There are very recent videos on youtube of people jumping off the high cliff there if you know the name of the high jump there which is also the same name I've always know the quarry to be called.

Thanks for your response I've made a mental note!

 

[inspectorgadget]

I'd also guess the quarry is at least as big as 3 football fields in surface area. There are several other quarries on the property that aren't as big or deep but there is one other one that is very large in surface area but no deeper than 10' in most of it. The other quarries were not the attraction tho so I wouldn't bother with them unless the bottom of the other one is totally paydirt so to speak!

 

[Jason in Enid]

If you have the water detector and are already a scuba diver, I say go for it! I am a scuba diver and a water hunter, but we have no quarries like that in my area.

 

[kinigit]

As a diver in Florida where people die every year from lost visibility be very careful about stirring up the sediment. It could go from clear blue to milk within seconds of excavating a find. Could be lucrative but the trash could pose a hazard. Just be careful. Test it first and see if the sediment stays suspended when stirred up. Also make sure there is no fishing line or take a knife so you don't get hung up.

Good luck. Sounds like good potential.

 

[kinigit]

Missed the rock bottom part. Still be careful it doesn't take much silt to cause problems. Good luck.

 

[inspectorgadget]

Missed the rock bottom part. Still be careful it doesn't take much silt to cause problems. Good luck.

Yes I am very aware of sediment getting disturbed being a possibility & potential hazard, the edge ledges on one side that are maybe 10ft deep have little to no sediment on em. The very bottom might be a little different tho. No one fishes in any of the quarries there & I have never even seen a trace of fisherman or their gear. I've really never even seen many fish in this particular quarry either just small bluegills, kind of strange! You can see the bottom in about every spot & it's definitely not dirt. Almost all the other quarries on the same property are not clear like this one is & I dunno why that is but they sure are murky & have alot of sediment in em for some reason.

Thanks for the heads up & INFO! Pix added to give a better feel of the spot


First pic is right to the left of the highest spot to jump from (65FT), the 2nd pic is from the other end so the high jump & where the 1st pic was taken is the top left corner area of the 2nd pic & this is the same spot the cover shot for the movie was taken. These pix do not do the water justice on it's clarity & notice the slanted out over the water rock near the bottom right corner of the 2nd pic, it is about a 20ft jump off the top of it & that's the rock the local kids hung out on & jumped from in the movie but the college kids jumped from the high spot thus showing the locals up. 3rd pic is a guy in the water below the high jump (the rock that sticks out a little atop the cliff) & if you look real good you can see someone in the middle of their jump (about half way down the cliff).

 

[New Orleans Relic]

I'm certified open water diver. Would love to bring tanks and regulator and dive this quarry with others. At-pro can only do 10 feet so I'd rent a deeper md'er. I'll be in western Illinois the last week of September for the Keokuk geode festival in Hamilton. I may have old friends in Shelbyville. Where are the quarries from there? How far are we talking, lugging gear? Is there easier access to the water level than we can see? Could come that way around the first. You seem serious about this. Perhaps the owner would consider permission. We would mabe fax our certification cards and waivers beforehand. Let me know if you should organize something. If not then, some other time.
Thanks Ray
Dont think I'd move a dime under that leaner on the bottom right. More treturious beneath the surface I'm sure.

 

[inspectorgadget]

I'm certified open water diver. Would love to bring tanks and regulator and dive this quarry with others. At-pro can only do 10 feet so I'd rent a deeper md'er. I'll be in western Illinois the last week of September for the Keokuk geode festival in Hamilton. I may have old friends in Shelbyville. Where are the quarries from there? How far are we talking, lugging gear? Is there easier access to the water level than we can see? Could come that way around the first. You seem serious about this. Perhaps the owner would consider permission. We would mabe fax our certification cards and waivers beforehand. Let me know if you should organize something. If not then, some other time.
Thanks Ray
Dont think I'd move a dime under that leaner on the bottom right. More treturious beneath the surface I'm sure.

That big rock overhanging the water isn't going anywhere ever, it's heavily used & always has been. It's the hangout spot, it's huge (20ft tall X 20FT long/wide) & that's just the part you can see sticking out of the side of the quarry & the water, it has been in that same exact position since the 30's. I doubt a bulldozer could move it cause I'm sure it out weighs one by a whole lot, I have dove of it many times before & it's solid beyond solid, it's also the best place to enter & exit the water at, it's not treacherous at all under it. I know it's hard to tell in the pix but the base of that rock is only about 1 or 2FT above the water & there is a well worn path down to it. It's a perfect staging area to enter the water! There are large limestone blocks maybe 3FT under water at the edges around that overhanging rock, the limestone blocks are like 4 to 5 FT X 4 to 5FT & those are solidly placed as well. The blocks look like the ones on the left side in the first pic & on the right in the 2nd pic, I know it's hard to tell scale in the pix but they are not budge-able my a human unless your David Banner & you cut yourself first..lol.

I don't think the owners are overly concerned about swimmers (or scuba divers), it's the divers (off the 65FT cliff) they don't want there. Several people (kids) have died jumping off the 65 footer because of landing wrong (the last death was in 08). I bet getting permission wouldn't be that hard as long as we are not going to jump! There is a dirt road on the west side of it that go all the way right back to the quarry but it's a gated road. With permission to be there we could probably use that dirt road to get all the way back to the quarry (an AWD vehicle or a 4x4 might be necessary tho). If we couldn't use the road for whatever reason, it would be a good 1/2 mile walk, there are 2 ways to enter the property & both are about the same distance from normal roads, the first I just described & it is the west entrance, the 2nd which is from the east is mostly walking down some old railroad tracks (in a very shaded area) all the way to the quarries but either way is not a real short walk.

The last part of September should be a perfect time for me! So I'm thinking we have something to get planned here! The quarry is about 1 hour (maybe a little more) southwest of Shelbyville, It's just about 1 hour from Indianapolis too. I know who the owners are (I don't know them) I just know who does own it so I will work on permission before taking step 2.

 

[inspectorgadget]

An aerial view for all to check out & I circled the exact quarry in the first pic.

 

[kinigit]

Looks cool as can be. Much prettier than the quarries in Florida. Let us know how it goes if you end up doing it. And good luck, have a great beeping time.

 

[inspectorgadget]

I've heard a lady in 08 purchased property adjacent to this property. She want's & is trying to purchase the quarries as she feels this spot should be open to the public as a park with swimming for anyone to legally visit instead of only the trespassers while breaking the law getting to visit such a beautiful quarry & nice property. It's been a slow process because she isn't making or trying to make money off her idea.

Anyway if this happens she plans on cleaning up the quarry as in removing the larger trash items including any leftover rigging, machinery or whatever the limestone company left down on the bottom. So if permission can't be obtained from the present owners maybe if it's sold to this lady me getting in on the ground floor on volunteering to help in the underwater cleanup would be the ticket to also have access & permission to do a thorough bottom search especially with everything large already removed thus making it much safer & easier to MD. I will still try to see what the present owners have to say but there is a possible backup plan now, just might take a year or 2 or maybe even more.

 

[inspectorgadget]

Looks cool as can be. Much prettier than the quarries in Florida. Let us know how it goes if you end up doing it. And good luck, have a great beeping time.

That's 100% of some of the finest limestone in the whole USA! Like I said that exact hole is where the Empire State buildings limestone came out of ... Now I must say that particular quarry is not even an average quarry for Indiana it's about the best one in the state that I've ever seen so they all aren't that way here either. A lot of Washington DC's monuments & buildings limestone came from the other quarries on the same property. Much of it was used in Indianapolis as well,

did you know Indianapolis is 2nd only to Washington DC on the amount of monuments in the city? I think our limestone played a role in why that became to be, not to mention Indianapolis was laid out by the same guy who laid out DC so that probably played a big roll on the amount of monuments we have too.

 

[New Orleans Relic]

You all could have cut a much bigger quarry for the "Manning" statue. Or perhaps you should've just offered him Bloomington. LOL

 

[spartacus53]

There is an old quarry that is almost famous (was used in a movie in 1979).

In the later 60's it turned into a hippie, nudist hangout spot with lots of drugs & orgies going on there.

I'm still trying to figure out where the nudists hid their coins

 

[WayneCountyDetector]

Something about quarries creep me out. I would never dive to the bottom of that thing unless I knew for sure there was something very valuable. I guess I have heard too many horror stories about quarries being drained and finding bodies and cars etc. in them.

 

[inspectorgadget]

You all could have cut a much bigger quarry for the "Manning" statue. Or perhaps you should've just offered him Bloomington. LOL

Their saving that stone for another 15 years for the statue of Andrew Luck! I heard at some point there is going to be a statue of Peyton, Eli & Archie in your neck of the woods..lol

I'm still trying to figure out where the nudists hid their coins

I don't suspect the later 60's & early 70's people (nudists) lost much stuff in the quarry, which is good IMO, we are not looking for clad anyway. I bet there are a lot of class rings & jewelry on the bottom tho. Over 75 years of use tells me there has to be a lot of valuables on the bottom!

Something about quarries creep me out. I would never dive to the bottom of that thing unless I knew for sure there was something very valuable. I guess I have heard too many horror stories about quarries being drained and finding bodies and cars etc. in them.

Ya many of the quarries around here even have old school buses on the bottom, usually for scuba divers to practice diving in & around. There is still the missing girl from Bloomington from last year too, I sure wouldn't want to find her down there! I wouldn't be interested in diving any of the murky with very little visibility quarries here but this particular one is so clear, it's not all that different from pool water. How could 75 years of use not = lot's of lost valuables in it? If 1 necklace, 1 ring & 1 bracelet or pendant per year got lost in it than there are at least 75 of each of those items down on the bottom so that's about 225 pieces of jewelry, & I'd bet those numbers are quite conservative! Say on average each piece is a conservative 4 grams, that's 900 grams or basically 2 pounds worth precious metals & stones. I bet those numbers are much closer to half of whats actually been lost in it & now just sitting on the bottom. Any coins in it would also be great & a bonus!