Well, this is probably the prettiest mine entrance I’ve ever seen with all these
pink and purple flowers growing here. They really smell!
You can smell the fragrance. It smells like perfume. We are headed
that way. So the reason all these flowers are growing here is because this mine is flooded,
and the water is flowing out and therefore keeps this entire
place green. Do you see those trees way down there in the distance? They’re there because of
the water that flows out of this mine. Otherwise it's a barren desert here. This truly is an oasis.
So here is the tunnel, and it has a lot of water. I think the water might come up to my knees
at some point from what I've heard. Okay, there's the entrance we just came through.
We’re in the water. You can see a timber under the water there where my light is
with some green algae or something growing around it. There’s another timber right up
there where my light is. We are going to continue down this way. Believe it or not, I was last here
about 11 years ago and never did this tunnel. I have always wanted to come back and explore it.
I’ve driven by this site so many times over the last 11 years, but I just never made it a point
to come here again. So this has been on my list for 11 years and now I’m finally getting it done!
Flooded mines are fun once in a while, but I wouldn't want to do them all the time like the
guys over in the UK. All of their mines seem to be flooded — severely flooded.
I heard that
it might get a little shallower. Usually these tunnels get shallower the further we go in because
they are mined on a gradient to allow the water to drain. Here are some big timbers. There would have
been ore cart tracks in here, so we might find them. I think right there is a remnant of a track.
We will probably find tracks up here when it gets less deep and more shallow
where things are better preserved. Yes, the water is about up to my knees here.
There's something down there across the tunnel. It looks like a bunch of rocks — maybe a dam.
Someone also said when they were in here a few years ago that there were snakes in the water,
so i don't know….
Yes, you can see here the water is almost up to my knee. There's my knee.
It looks like it's getting shallow here.
Down here is a hose or a pipe
right there where my light is. It’s probably a ventilation — no, that's too small for
ventilation. It’s probably a pipe for water or air for the drills. There are some more timbers.
I have my oxygen meter with me because flooded mines can be dangerous.
I’ve heard that the water can sometimes harbor carbon dioxide.
When you walk through it and disturb the water, the carbon dioxide
gets released into the air which isn't a good thing. Wow! That is like an optical illusion up
there! See where those rocks go across the tunnel? It looks like that's a dam and that the tunnel has
no water behind that! See that? See how the water is moving in front of the dam from me walking?
Behind it the water is totally still, so it looks like that's empty. Let me see if I can zoom-in.
There we go! Can you see what I’m talking about? It looks like there's no water back there beyond
that dam because it's not moving. That is kind of freaky! You can see the reflection of the ceiling
behind the dam there, so it looks like there's no water!
These flooded mines certainly do change things up a bit. Okay, here's a little cut out section
probably used by the miners when the ore cart was passing by. They would have to go in here to get
out of the way. Yes, that is such a great illusion. You will see it better up here.
That looks like the water stops right here.
This dam is kind of like a permanent fixture. Somebody actually used cement or something.
That was done deliberately. Can you see how the water is flowing over that? So the water
is moving which is good in these flooded mines. Like I said, stagnant water can sometimes release
carbon dioxide and other gases if you stir it up. Then you're in some serious trouble!
I just crossed that dam. That’s looking back to the entrance.
Let me zoom back in. There we go! We are going to continue down this way. I had heard that this
tunnel splits down here at a Y intersection, and the water is coming out of the ceiling.
You can see here on the sides a white line
on both sides. The water might have been a lot higher in here at one time. I don't know.
It’s not quite as deep here. The water is about up to the top of my ankle now.
Imagine coming in here if the water line was really up to where it looks like it might have
been at one point with the white marks on the sides of the tunnel! That water level would be
up to my chin basically. You would have to put on a full wetsuit or something.
Yes, this is becoming more shallow. There areno ore cart tracks, though.
Here is the split that I was told was here. See? It pays to do your
research before you go into a mine so you know what you are getting yourself into.
I see where the water is. Let's listen.
Hear that? So here's the Y intersection. Let’s take the right branch first. You can see the water
droplets that are here.
There is some kind of wooden structure down there. We’ll
check that out in a minute. It’s probably an ore chute.
Wow! Look at all this flowstone! It’s very common in wet mines. Look at that!
See that dripping? That's all flowstone.
That was a nice flowstone deposit.
It looks like the tunnel just ends here. This looks like some old piping,
and then there's a piece of the track. I think you can see that's a pipe or a track there.
It looks like that went down into the ground. I’m not sure why that's there.
I don't think there's a lower level. Anyway, that's the end right there,
so let's take the other branch and go check out that wooden structure.
You can see how quickly the water has calmed down
after I walked through it. It’s as smooth as glass! I was just up there a minute or two ago.
We’ll go past the flowstone here,
and again you can see right here how the water is flowing out of the mine.
There is more flowstone here at this junction.
It looks like the bulk of the water is coming from this area.
Wow! Oh my gosh! This is flowstone central! Look at that!
Look at all that flowstone!
That is really thick!
So back in here they really timbered this. Look at that! And then
look all that flowstone there at the end of the tunnel and on the right here!
Check out all this flowstone here.
I’m at the back of the tunnel. The water is coming out right there, and there's the face. There is
water dripping everywhere, so I don't want to spend too much time in here. Look at all of this!
Do you see that? That is all flowstone in there. That’s amazing! I've never seen flowstone that
thick. All of this water constantly coming in here makes it grow and grow and grow. Look at that!
I just remembered that my iPhone 11 is waterproof for the most part,
so I don’t need to worry too much. This is amazing right here! Check that out!
So they stopped mining right there. That’s the end of the tunnel. Let’s get back
out there to the big junction and out of this rainstorm.
We are now heading back to the junction here. That was pretty cool!
There’s our exit.
Okay, we're back at the barrier.
A little concrete dam.
It looks like they took a bunch of rocks and maybe cemented them together
there. We have got to go over this to get out of here.
So all of this water constantly trickles out of this mine and keeps all those trees,
flowers, and shrubs watered. How cool is that?
It looks like a piece of a dynamite box over there. This flooded mine is probably also
a watering hole for the wildlife that probably come down here at night to get a drink of water.
This is where it's deep. The water is back up to my knees again.
Here’s one last look down there.