SCUBA

Some of the most interesting diving in Alberta is located at lake Minnewanka. You won't find a lot of life here - maybe the odd lake trout or snail, but that's about it. What you will find are the remnants of an old town and dam flooded in 1941.

Originally developed as a resort in the late 1880's, lake Minnewanka has been damned 3 times. The first time it was dammed was in 1895 - a small wooden dam was put in to enlarge the lake. This was followed by a second electrical dam and supporting town in 1912. The lake remained unchanged until the second world war, when it was dammed for the third, and final time. This dam, built in 1941 under the war measures act, raised the water levels 30m (100'), putting both of the old dams and the two town sites under water.

It is hard to give depth info, as the depth of this lake varies by as much as 30'. Visibility is very poor in the spring, as run off carries a great amount of silt into the lake. After thaw, visibility can be as little as 30cm (1'). It isn't until mid-summer that visibility reaches a decent level. The best time to dive here is late fall/early winter, when visibility is in the 10-20m (30-50') range. In all locations there is a lot of silt, so stay off the bottom. The resort town lies in the Middle of the lake. Although this site is drivable, we do not have any experience in this area, so we won't cover it. However, several dive sites exist within easy access from the road.

1) A series of cliffs are accessible from the picnic area in the day use area. These cliffs are home to a lot of fish, and area great place to go hunting for fishing lures. The easiest way to the cliffs is from the beach, located near the point (viable on the map at left). Swim around the point, to the cliffs beyond. Depth is usually 50-60'.

2) The bridge. An old bridge is located along the new dam. Stop in the parking area on the southern end of the dam, and take the stairs down to the shore. Swim due east from the main plaque on the viewing area, about 100m out. Not much remains of the bridge, just the pilings and abutments. The bridge itself runs east-west. This area is interesting as the old shore line is clearly visible. Depth varies from 50' to 85'.

3) The 1912 dam and pumphouse. Depth at the top varies from 40'-60', depth at the bottom varies from 70'-90'. This is the most interesting site in the lake. The pumphouse is a three story building, access is through skylights in the roof. There is some interesting machinery in the basement, as well as a culvert leading out of the bottom of the pumphouse. Exiting through the culvert will take you out at the bottom of the dam. The dam itself has three concrete spillways.

To find the dam park on the northern end of the dam. You will see a ring of buoys identifying the dive area. In the middle will be a single bouy with a dive flag on it. Follow the chain down - you'll land about 20' north of the pumphouse.

4-6) Foundations of old houses. These are the remnants of the support buildings for the 1912 dam. Foundations 4&5 can be found by swimming north of the dam. In between you'll see a lot of debris - wood, barrels and old tree trunks. Foundation 6 is east of #5, and can be hard to find. All of these sites site in ~55' of water.

7) The well. An old well is located NNE of the dam. it is about a meter square and 5m deep. A small wood crib is visible around the well. This site also sites in about 55' of water.


Calgary Area	SCUBA Sites	Waterton