When you think of scuba diving, you typically imagine a colorful island paradise. At first glance, you might believe that this incredibly blue water belong to a beautiful seaside spot... but they're not. These freshwater divers filmed their underwater exploration of Clear Lake, Oregon.
Clear Lake, located in Linn County, is considered one of the best places to lake dive in the country. This mountain lake is filled with the snow runoff from Mt. Washington and serves as the McKenzie River headwaters. The chilly water, which rarely reaches temperatures over 43° F, makes it impossible for many types of algae to grow, keeping the waters from clouding up. The lack of plant life prevents most species of fish from calling Clear Lake home, leaving the submerged landscape eerily still.
The silty lake floor is made from ash leftover from the volcanic activity of the Cascade Mountain Range thousands of years ago. Although little plant or animal life thrives here, there is a sunken feature in Clear Lake that you won't find anywhere else: 100 feet beneath the surface, tall, upright tree trunks dot the desert-like hills and valleys, incredibly preserved by the freezing water. These unique trees are more than 3,000 years old and were killed by the same volcanic ash that created this beautiful lake.
It's a little spooky to see the trees appear from the depths as these divers explore this otherworldly environment, but we can't tear our eyes away from the shimmering, exceptionally blue underwater footage!
This video, shared by Dmitriy on YouTube, is one of many incredible diving adventures from around the world - check out his channel to see more amazing underwater footage!
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