Mammoth Lake

This is a guest post from one of my friends, Grant.

Hey, I'm Grant T. Amanda has been awesome enough to welcome me for a guest post on her blog. I've spent some time researching a new Texas dive site named Mammoth Lake. The lake has an interesting history and is a premiere attraction for divers.

Clute is a town of 10 thousand people hugging the gulf coast of Texas. In 2003, a backhoe uncovered a mammoth in a sand pit. The town and the sand pit gained some notoriety. Shortly after, the owners decided to make a dive site out of it¹.

Red dot shows location of Clute, TX. (Source: Wikipedia²)

Starting with an empty hole as opposed to a lake gave them freedom to build an interesting site. The owners also manage a junk yard, so they're able to look over lots of interesting items to put use. The lake has an old church steeple, a military vehicle renovated to look like a submarine, several boats, and 8-foot metal turtles, to name a few³.

It measures 50 acres in surface area and is around 70 feet deep.

The dive site has been opened to the public. If you're interested in diving in Mammoth lake, there are a few things you need to know⁴:

• Divers pay a $20 fee. 
• Snorkelers pay a $10 fee.
• Primitive camping is available. 
• There is a restaurant on site. 
• BBQ pits are allowed.

Thanks, Grant.
And here's one more picture that I found of Mammoth Lake.

Sunken skeleton & boat at Lake Mammoth (Source: Scuba Board⁵)

Footnotes

[1] Gene Gentrup. (n.d.). 'Mammoth Lake' Filling Up in Southeast Texas. Dive Training. Retrieved April 26, 2011, from http://www.dtmag.com/dive-usa/locations/MammothLake_TX.html

[2] File:TXMap-doton-Clute.PNG. (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved April 26, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:TXMap-doton-Clute.PNG

[3] Sandpit owner in Texas wants to create an underwater attraction for scuba divers. (2006, June 14). The Seattle Times. Retrieved April 26, 2011, from http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003059902_lake14.html?syndication=rss

[4] Mammoth Lake Scuba Park. (n.d.). Bay Area Divers. Retrieved April 26, 2011, from http://www.bayareadivers.org/map-directions-mammothlake-scubapark-lakejacksontexas.htm

[5] Mammoth Lake. (2011, March). Scuba Board. Retrieved April 26, 2011, from http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/texas-swamp-divers/372943-mammoth-lake.html