Take A Dive At Bonneville Seabase

Writing in Sunset Magazine, Peter Fish observes: "What Utah does not have ― and you may have noticed this if you've ever visited here ― is an ocean. An ocean of any kind. Which is why (Linda) Nelson and her husband and dive-shop partner George Sanders had to create a substitute."

Fish wrote this article about Bonneville Seabase, a series of naturally warm, deep pools just south of the Great Salt Lake. The water's chemistry is similar to ocean water and the pools have been stocked with a large number of ocean fish. Below are excerpts from Fish's article.

What Nelson was looking for was a place to teach scuba diving. Once an exotic, expensive sport, diving has become a mainstream pastime in the United States, with more than 3 million adherents. And Utah is a scuba center: By some estimates, it ranks as one of the top 15 states with the highest percentage of divers per capita in the nation. "We have a lot of outdoorsy people," Nelson explains.

Seabase has four main dive areas: White Rocks Bay, Habitat Bay, Bubbling Sands, and the Abyss. White Rocks Bay is roofed so divers can use it during winter months when the air temperature hovers at zero. Habitat Bay teems with pompano and puffers and angelfish, many of which are rescued fish ― some, for example, retirees from the flashy aquariums at Las Vegas casinos. There are also two nurse sharks.

Read the entire article.