The Atlantic Quarry is an old pit mine owned by Schildberg Construction http://www.schildberg.com/. The quarry is a great place to have fun with some local diving. Many dive shops, and public safety dive teams use the quarry for training and certification dives. Visibility varies greatly depending on local weather conditions but average visibility is usually around 10-15 feet. Storms usually tend to stir things up and the visibility can be reduced to a few feet or even inches. The fish in the quarry are extremely friendly. Many divers take frozen corn down with them to feed the fish. There is a great rock wall along the south side that is perfect for diving and full of life. If you are good with your air consumption you can navigate the entire circumference of the quarry on a single tank. The max depth we have hit is 85 feet. At those depths the water is about 41 F. The water at those depths lacks oxygen and has a sulfur smell and reddish color. Above 60 feet the water is clean and clear.
To get to the quarry from I-80 use exit 54 and head South on highway 173 for 5 miles. You will come to a T intersection. The intersecting road is Marne Road. Turn Left (East) on Marne Road and continue for another 2.2 miles to Sunnyside Lane. On the left side of the road you will see the Schildberg Construction Company and the Atlantic Quarry.
If you are diving with the Greater Omaha SCUBA Club we keep paperwork and permission on file with Schildberg. If you are diving on your own please be sure to secure permission from Schildberg before going. They are very friendly and will allow most people to dive there as long as you fill out their liability forms.
Here is a link to google maps for the site.
Atlantic Quarry, Atlantic Iowa
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