This is a 300khz image of the "Batch Plant", which was actually a water storage tank during the days of dam construction. The tank is made of concrete and is roughly 115' across. A concrete tower is located at the center which has a hole in the center of it (can be seen in image). Note the release gate towards the bottom of the image and the rockslide which has covered part of the wall at the upper left. Most of the interior of the tank is in shadow of the wall.
Here's another shot of the water storage tank, this time with an added bonus. While attempting a very close run of the tank to get a hi-res image (at 2am one night), we were a bit farther out than we thought and also captured this image of a 15' X 30' rectangular structure with a sloped V-shaped bottom. The walls are about 7' high and the whole thing is made of concrete. (You know we had to go DIVE this thing!) We're currently trying to figure out what this structure was used for and should soon have copies of some old photographs of this entire site!
This is a wooden wreck which actually started out on the bottom in a different part of the lake than where it rests today. The boat was raised and later sunk again in the 1980's in the waters near the Boulder Islands in about 60 feet of water. The bow is pointing towards the upper left hand side in this image. Unfortunately, due to declining water levels, the Tortuga became exposed in 2003 and has since been pretty trashed by a combination of vandalism and the elements.
This is an image of a speedboat we searched for and salvaged in Callville Bay in 146' of water. The boat is a 19' Go Fast type boat that I'm sure goes fast on the surface but once it took a wave it went to the bottom even faster! The bow is pointing to the right and the silt cloud from dragging our anchor can be seen to the lower right of the boat. The bow fins, cockpit and engine are all visible.
For you geology oriented people out there, you might find this image particularly interesting. It is a hi-res (50m range setting) image taken off of Boulder Beach of the border between the graded beach and the original alluvial floodplain structure which characterized the area. Due to declining water levels over the past 4 years, this region became exposed and in fact grading has continued further out.
This image was taken below the water storage tank seen on the previous page. We believe this to be the worksite where the aggregate was sorted and then transported to batch plants located near Hoover Dam in Black Canyon. Water depth is over 200 feet and there are 4 piles of various size aggregate, ranging to over 30 feet high. Also note the structures in the lower left hand corner. Dives to the site have revealed tanks, rail tracks, wooden bulkheads and the remains of steel towers which once stood on the site. While declining water levels have put the tops of the piles in the recreational diving range, great care should be taken in diving this site due to depth and low visibility conditions.
This is another view of the aggregate plant and nearby structures. After doing some diving to the bases of the piles, we found concrete tunnels extending into the piles and a chute at the end going up the center of the pile. Tunnel location is indicated by the arrow. Divers considering visiting this site should not attempt penetration of the tunnels due to the danger of silt outs and potential tunnel collapse. Additional dives are planned to visit the nearby structures.
This 50m image is of a 20' ski boat found during a survey of the upper basin of Lake Mead. In this image, we can see that this is an open bow boat with an inboard-outboard motor. After diving on this boat (a virgin wreck!), other details now apparent in the image include the helm, engine hatch and bowrails. Wreck location is near Twin Springs Cove.
