|
Pactola Lake
 Silver City, SD 57702
|
Max Depth: Over 150ft/46m
Average Viz: 21-25ft/6-8m
Entry Type: Shore
Aquatic Life: Plenty To See
|
|
|
|
|
Pactola Lake is a shore accessible fresh water dive site, located in Silver City, SD 57702. The maximum depth is over 150ft/46m. The average visibility is 21-25ft/6-8m.
Pactola Lake is famous for its crystal clear water. Visibility on most days is 20 to 25 feet. With this type of water, it’s only natural that Pactola is very popular with water skiers and all boating enthusiasts. Scuba divers also come from all over the country to enjoy the clear, unpolluted water of this lake and visit some of the artifacts remaining from the days before the reservoir was flooded.
Pactola Lake is on US 385, 11 miles north of Hill City, SD. Beneath the lake is the town of Pactola, first settled in 1875. The settlement was later referred to as Camp Crook, named after General Crook who made his headquarters there while chasing miners out of the Hills in 1876 for the land belonged to the Sioux. It wasn’t long before the white man took the land for himself. In early 1877, as many as 300 miners were working the rich placer deposits and the town was renamed Pactola after the ancient Greek placer workings on the river Pactolus. For many years the town was served by the Black Hills & Western Railroad, and was famous both as a mining town and a resort. Downstream from Pactola Lake is an ancient cabin that still marks the area where Pactola and its placers prospered.
Pactola Dam is situated at a point along Rapid Creek where the valley narrows and the creek has cut through a resistant, northwest trending ridge. Rocks at the dam consist of a complex series of schists, slates and amphibolites lying in nearly vertical beds which strike in a northwest direction. There is a small fold in the right abutment that modifies the strike of the beds and causes the axis of the dam to cross some beds twice. The schistosity for the most part parallels the original bedding. The amphibolite schist rocks are hard, jointed and usually weathered to shallow depths. The slate beds contain abundant iron pyrite which weathers readily above the water table.