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Scuba
Training, Sunken Treasure: Story and photos by David Prichard and Lily Mak
One of the oldest inland scuba diving destinations in About 75 miles (120 km) west of Fort Worth in the
Palo Pinto Mountains of North Central Texas, the reservoir emerged after the
construction of the Morris Sheppard Dam in 1941, which was built to help
control the flooding of the historic Brazos River and provide hydropower to
the region. The narrow lake follows the winding, snakelike path of the river
for 65 miles (104 km) with about 17,700 acres (7,080 hectares) of water, but
the deep waters closest to the dam, with its clear visibility, is what
attracts divers. "Most of the lake in the upper portion is
shallow with low visibility, but the closer you get to the dam, the more
exceptional the diving, with visibility ranging up to 100 feet (30 m),"
says Todd Burns of Scuba Point Dive Shop, which has operated as a training
site and air fill station on the lake since 1959. Among the key features of
the lower section of lake for divers are the sheer rock walls with numerous
cutouts and caves bordering the former river valley, Burns says.
Most of the rocky land of this region of Texas was
formed about 95-119 million years ago during the Cretaceous Period, when an
extended Gulf of Mexico created an inland sea over much of central Texas.
Dinosaurs like the Iguanodon and Pawpawsaurus, plus other therapods and
sauropods roamed the shores and have left in the region many fossil remains,
like those found along a branch of the The first Europeans to explore this region of The area eventually became settled with cattle
ranches along the river and later fields of cotton. The town of The oil boom era hit the area around 1915 and the
Palo Pinto region became a major oil supplier to the The Brazos Conservation and Reclamation District,
part of a depression-era recovery agency, bought up land around the
flood-prone river and the town of While the dam was named after a Outdoor enthusiasts began spreading the word about
the clear waters of the reservoir, locally referred to as just "PK,"
in the late 1950s. Skin divers and early participants of the new sport of
scuba diving began exploring the relatively new lake, primarily with spear
guns in search of game fish. One early diver who began making regular weekend
treks to the lake from The "Goldfinger" compressor is still
operational, but only for high-capacity fills such as cascade-system
cylinders due to the operating cost of the big unit. The couple uses a more
economical air compressor at the dive center for divers needing to fill only
one or two cylinders at a time. An enriched-air system is also available. Along with the air fill station and retail/rental
shop, Scuba Point also offers training facilities for area dive centers.
Several classroom spaces are available for scheduling academic sessions and
an outdoor pool is handy for confined-water training. A protected diving area, sectioned off by marked
buoys from lake boat traffic, includes several underwater training platforms
at various depths and a series of sunken attractions. Within the dive area
are three sunken boats and several cars. A pair of fiberglass domes, a
drive-in restaurant burger sign and other items of interest are placed for
divers. A sunken catamaran boat at a depth of 65 feet (20
m) has been equipped with a chain-link platform for deep-diving training
exercises. As with most lake diving facilities, multiple thermoclines can be
encountered en route to deeper depths, plunging the water temperature as
much as 20 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 6 degrees Celsius). Surface
temperatures during the summer can reach the upper 80s F (upper 20s C). Divers have access to the Scuba Point dive area by
a floating dock, boat ramp or shoreline entry and exit. A small takeout
restaurant at the dive center offers sandwiches, snacks and refreshments to
divers. Camping spaces and cabin rentals are also offered on-site
In addition to shore diving at Scuba Point, the
center also offers dive boat charter trips to dive sites around the lake.
Popular dive sites include Scenic Point Cove (buoy 14), Governor's Cove near
the dam (buoy 2), and Scuba Point's private cove (buoy 10). One of the most popular dive sites on the lake is
also the signature landmark of the lake — Hell's Gate. Looming over 90
feet (27 m) tall at full lake level, this opening between two rock cliffs
(one side actually belongs to an island) creates a passageway, or
"gate," to a cove that is popular with boaters. During holidays
and summer weekends, hundreds of boats often tie together in the cove to
create a floating party island. "With that many people, a lot of things get
dropped into the water for a scuba scavenger's dream location," says
Burns about the treasures that divers often find in the cove. He says the
cove ranges from 20 to 60 feet (6 to 18 m) deep, so it is easily accessible
to divers during nonpeak boating times. According to lake regulations, divers have to be
within 150 feet (45 m) of the shoreline with a "diver down" flag
or buoy big enough to be visible from a distance of 100 feet (30 m). Solo
diving is not permitted and diving operations can't block or interfere with
normal boat traffic. Although a golden algae bloom killed a lot of fish
in 2001, the lake's marine wildlife population has made a comeback with the
assistance of a restocking program that introduced more than 9 million fish
to the lake since the bloom. A Among the fish that divers can expect to see are
blue and channel catfish, smallmouth, largemouth and striped bass, and
several varieties of sunfish. Burns says that since the algae bloom
occurred, divers have been finding small crabs living in the rocks. Many people around the country may only recognize
Possum Kingdom as the name of a hit rock song in the mid-1990s by the Ft.
Worth-based group, The Toadies, but the lake has had a tradition of being
one of the state's best inland dive destinations.
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