You are reading "Part Four - Scuba Diving Canada's Interior Waterways" in Jill Heinerth's five-part, underwater Canada series. Read the entire series here.

Far from three sea coasts and distant from the Great Lakes Waterways, Canada’s prairie provinces are almost as flat as a pancake. Along the TransCanada Highway, mustard-colored canola fields meet a wedge wood sky punctuated by grain silos and wooden poles that run along empty steel rails servicing distant family farms. Wheat Kings riding John Deere chariots bring in summer hay and leave contrails of dust drifting over oceans of grassland. Few divers ever venture into Canada’s breadbasket for diving, but I’ve learned that every corner of Canada has a unique water story.

At the Glen Beag picnic area in Riding Mountain National Park in Manitoba, a small wooden stairway leads down to a rocky shoreline. Clear water laps over the pebbles and the birch and pine-covered shore look idyllic, so I slip in with my camera to get a sense of the area. Descending in through the shallows, I find a crayfish wonderland and a healthy stock of mussels. A little deeper, I stumble upon a sunken pleasure boat. Covered in years of undisturbed silt, I imagine that nobody has visited this wreck for an eternity. Freshwater dives are not highlighted by charismatic megafauna. There are no whales, sharks, or colorful reef fish. But for me, freshwater diving is an exciting look into a community of creatures. Every lake and river is different, and every dive tells a story.

At another popular site, West Hawk Lake, divers lunge into a deep crater formed by a meteor strike. Surrounded by beautiful beaches, this Manitoba lake is brimming with smallmouth bass. Regional shops frequent the area with scuba classes, but there are plenty of other spots to dive where you won’t find another soul. Traveling westward, deeper into the prairies, divers visit a flooded townsite at Whiteswan Lake, Saskatchewan. The building of two nearby dams submerged several interest points like a road, blockhouse, spillways, and telephone poles.

Closer to the Rocky Mountains, Alberta boasts an extremely active diving community. For over sixty years, the Alberta Underwater Council (AUC) has supported divers’ rights, encouraged safety, and educated the community about conservation issues, underwater archaeology, and diving opportunities. At Lake Minnewanka in the beautiful Banff National Park, 8000 dives a year are logged in the reservoir that hides the remains of a bustling lakeside resort that is now only accessible with scuba gear. Divers find hotel foundations, piers, an oven, a chimney, a cellar, bridge pilings, and the footings of an old dam that are well preserved in the glacial water. Archaeologists have recovered objects relating to the earliest inhabitants, including arrowheads, atlatls, and stone implements up to 13,000 years old. But Canadians protect their underwater heritage. Removal of objects or parts of shipwrecks is strictly prohibited.

My favorite Alberta site is the wreck of a stern-wheeler called Gertrude at Waterton Lakes National Park, which shares the border with America’s Glacier National Park. The steamer was scuttled in Emerald Bay in 1918. Parking at the beach entry, you’ll find the wreck lying in 30-60 feet of water very close to shore. For your second dive, visit Cameron Bay, where many depth profiles are available to visitors from recreational to technical skill levels.

With over 206,000 lakes and countless rivers, midwestern Canada offers plenty of opportunities for the intrepid diver. Whether you plunge into an unexplored glacial lake or visit one of the numerous reservoirs formed to serve the bountiful farmlands, you will also enjoy the drive to get there. Canada’s Prairie provinces are anything but monotonous flatlands. They are an undiscovered gem, filled with chances to dive sites that nobody has seen before.

DIVING SERVICES

MANITOBA
Underworld Scuba and Sport
Diver City Scuba Inc.

SASKATCHEWAN
The Diving Center, Saskatoon
Tropical Dreams Dive Adventures, Regina

ALBERTA
Alberta Underwater Council

NEED TO KNOW

Canada is serious about preventing the spread of Aquatic Invasive Species. You will be required to stop at the ranger’s office at many parks, to disinfect your scuba gear or boat, and pick up a permit before entering the water.