Bonne Terre Mine
Industrial Heritage · Bonne Terre, Missouri
A lead mine worked from 1864 by the St. Joseph Lead Company beneath the town of Bonne Terre, abandoned in 1962, and gradually flooded by rain and groundwater into what has been described as the largest man-made cavern in the world and billed as the world's largest freshwater dive resort. Walking and boat tours run through the dry upper levels and over the flooded ones; Jacques Cousteau's Calypso crew came to film here in 1983, which is the fact that tells you what kind of place it is.
Park Avenue, Bonne Terre, Missouri, 63628, United States
Tours run daily on a posted schedule, generally several a day, and are the only way in. Booking ahead is sensible at weekends. DIVING IS A SEPARATE OPERATION requiring certification and advance arrangement, and is not something to turn up for. The mine is a constant 62 degrees. Closed on major holidays.
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