Missouri may boast a variety of caves, but the Bonne Terre Mines, located an hour south of St. Louis, are an underground experience like nothing else. Rated one of America’s top ten adventures by National Geographic, the flooded Mines are a unique experience for both scuba divers and above water explorers.

“I highly recommend the tours,” tour guide Steve Dozier said. “You will not understand it unless you visit it.”

What Dozier claims is hard to understand is the sheer size and beauty of the Mines. Above ground visitors explore the caverns on a boat and walking tour. Th

ey can glimpse beneath the water to the historic mines below.

“It was crystal clear water,” sophomore Kelly Smith said. “I think it’s unique because it shows you the history, what the miners used to do for a living.”

The Bonne Terre Mines opened just after the Civil War. At that time, these man-made caverns functioned as lead mines. When the mines closed in 1960, groundwater seeped in through the rocks, flooding the mines and forming an underground lake.

Preserved in the lake is the miner’s underground city. To eliminate the need for frequent journeys above ground, the mines contain stables, offices, sleeping quarters and more. From a boat, visitors can view these chambers and other mining artifacts.

“It’s like walking into history,” Dozier said. “The boat tour will give you a connection with the history of the miners, and you will also be able to look down and see scuba divers.”

In order to see divers in action, Dozier recommends coming to mines on Saturdays during the winter, as this is the Mines’ busiest dive season. For those without diving certification, the grandeur of the mines can be experienced just as well from above water on a $25 tour.

“It’s just enormous,” regular visitor to Bonne Terre Valerie Elliot said. “It’s so massive, and it’s breathtakingly beautiful.”