Captain John's and BlueWater Lake in Oronogo, Missouri

Captain John’s dive shop.
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Our dive shop is on-site, just a few steps up the hill from the lake. We have rental gear and new Scuba equipment for sale. With our air station right here, we can keep you diving all weekend long. We can also fill nitrox and trimix for extended range diving.

A little history. Oronogo, Missouri was a mining town back in the early 1900s. When a group of smaller mines were joined together by blasting them out and dropping the ceiling, “The Circle” was formed, said to be the largest open pit lead and zinc mine in the world.

When mining of the Circle stopped in 1950, natural springs and rainwater soon filled it. Now the clear water, unique underwater terrain, and depths reaching 230 ft. draw divers from all over the midwest.

14 acres of deep clear water.
marshallandbrynn
Roads down into the old mine create different floor levels in the lake. There are adventures to be found at any depth, for divers of all skill levels.

Visibility usually ranges from 10-20 feet on the surface. At depth, below thermocline, it’s always clearer and visibility reaches 30 or more feet. Water temperature on the surface hits 70 degrees or more in the summer. Below thermocline (usually about 25-30 feet deep) the water remains 45-50 degrees all year.


Perfect for scuba training.
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Instructors bring new students to Bluewater for open water training dives for a number of reasons: It’s down out of the wind, weather rarely gets in the way of planned dives. There’s no boat traffic. It’s a big help to have the dive shop close, for air fills, or sales and rental of equipment when a piece of gear is needed. Entry to the water is easier than many dive sites. There are underwater platforms placed strategically for instructors to run students through skills or gather divers before descending deeper.

Tec diving. Depths exceeding 200 feet and some challenging overhead environments make the flooded mine a favorite site for tec divers to practice their passion. It’s common to see tec clubs down in the entry area, gearing up in dry suits, with lights, scooters and cave reels to make carefully planned extended range dives.
Back when there were a few old timers still around Oronogo, who knew some of the history of the mine, there were rumors of a train abandoned far back in one of the tunnels — the search (by qualified tec divers) has been on ever since. In 2003 a team of divers finally reached it.
Tec training is available at our shop, including mixed gases, drysuit, and overhead environments.

Freediving. The flooded mine is also well suited for freedive training. On occasion you’ll find recreational freedivers running up and down the mooring lines, practicing constant ballast dives to depths they can’t find in many other dive parks and lakes in the midwest.

About the grounds.
camping
There’s plenty of room for parking vehicles and club trailers. Many groups set up sun shelters and tarp the ground for staging equipment, suiting up, and for a place to kick back, pull wetsuits off, and watch the clock for necessary surface intervals.
Overnight accommodations. RV and tent camping are available in the park on the hill overlooking the lake. Hotels and restaurants are just a few minutes away in Joplin.
Other dive shops welcome. Dive shops outside the Joplin area (shops not in direct competition with Captain John’s) are welcome to schedule their open water or advanced Scuba training dives at our private lake.