Silo for Deep Diving

Midland, Texas is home to a unique silo that used to hold a missile. Now the silo is filled with water and is used for diving.

Diving in the Silo

The silo's deep "pool" is used as a deep dive site, where divers can work on advanced scuba certifications. The silo is a good use as a dive site to gain more experience, assuming you are already working on (or have) one of these certifications:

• Deep Diver (60-130 ft / 18-40 meters)
• Night Diver
• Altitude Diver (diving 1000+ ft above sea level)
• Mixed-gas Diving Specialties
• Rebreather Specialties

Silo Good for Refining Skills
The Family Scuba Center maintains the silo, known officially as Dive Valhalla. From the official Valhalla website¹, the owners recommend

...advanced certification and cold water experience as well as familiarity with altitude diving procedures and good buoyancy control.

Also, before you dive, make sure you can climb up and down 30 feet of stairs with your dive gear on, because that is how you enter and exit the water in the silo, as seen below.

Source: Local Diving USA²

Silo Details
From the Valhalla website, the silo has a "constant 68 degree air temperature" with consistent lighting as well. The Valhalla website¹ explains,

...The silo is 60' in diameter ... Mark and Linda Hannifin, owners of Family Scuba Center, feel that the main draw for divers is the exclusivity and uniqueness of the site. ... It's a BTDT (been there, done that) dive that makes for an interesting logbook entry and a definite conversation starter..... (you dove where??). 

So whether you're searching for unique dive sites or working on a certification, this missile silo can be a great opportunity.


Footnotes

[1] Gone to Valhala. (n.d.). Family Scuba Center Inc. Retrieved March 25, 2011, from http://www.familyscuba.com/Valhalla/AboutValhalla/GoneToValhala/tabid/67/Default.aspx

[2] David Prichard. (n.d.). Texas Missile Silo. Local Diving USA. Retrieved March 25, 2011, from http://www.dtmag.com/dive-usa/locations/TexasMissileSiloTX.html