Lakes are liminal spaces. The world divides between what is above and what is below. They can also be spooky places where waves behave oddly, and it is easy to imagine all manner of things concealed in the gloomy depths below.

While lakes may scare some people away, others actively go to them to search out the mysteries they hide. Here are 10 discoveries that might make you want to go lake diving.

10 Religious Site

Lake Titicaca is both the largest freshwater lake in South America and the highest navigable lake in the world. It has long been a focus for human interest, with many ancient cultures living beside it and including it in their mythologies.

For the Incas, the god Con Tiqui Viracocha rose from the waters of Lake Titicaca and brought the first humans with him. An island in the middle of the lake was also the supposed birthplace of the founder of the Incan royal line. Ruins of the Inca can be found all around the lake, but something older lurks within.

A temple measuring 200 meters (656 ft) by 50 meters (164 ft) was discovered in 2000 by archaeologists who dated it to around AD 500–1000, making it pre-Inca. Constructed by the Tiwanaku people, the temple is just one of their religious sites that’s been found.^[1]

In 2013, startlingly beautiful golden objects were brought to the surface along with ceramics and bones given to the Tiwanaku gods. One of the most interesting discoveries is an object showing an animal that is a hybrid of a llama and a puma.

9 Tiny Animals

Not all lakes are in pretty locations. Some are almost impossible to find without the latest technologies. Lake Mercer in Antarctica is buried under 1 kilometer (0.6 mi) of ice. It had not been touched by humans until 2018 when a group of researchers managed to bore a small hole down to the waters crushed under a glacier. What they discovered shocked the scientists—a tardigrade and the bodies of tiny creatures like crustaceans.

Tardigrades are famous for being able to survive intense pressures, a huge range of temperatures, and even the vacuum of outer space. But the one brought up from Lake Mercer was very much dead, an ex-tardigrade.

What was interesting about the remains found at the bottom of the lake was that they resembled species known to live on dry land. It seems that the creatures were trapped when climactic conditions changed. Researchers are still investigating the lake to see if any life-forms have managed to thrive in the utter blackness of conditions under the ice.^[2]

8 Mungo Man And Woman

While climate change created and preserved Lake Mercer, it spelled the doom of Lake Mungo in Australia. As the region became more arid, it caused the lake to shrink and become more alkaline before finally drying up entirely several thousand years ago.

In the dried mud of the lake bed, footprints from 20,000 years ago have been preserved. One group shows children and adolescents moving together. Another suggests hunters moving quickly—including a one-legged man who hopped quickly after the others.

Jim Bowler discovered two sets of human remains in Lake Mungo that date from around 40,000 years ago. Inventively called Mungo Man and Mungo Woman, they prove the length of time that indigenous Australians have lived in the country. Mungo Woman is also the earliest-recorded cremation found anywhere in the world.^[3]

The remains of Mungo Man and Woman were taken from their site of discovery for further study. But they have since been returned to representatives of the indigenous groups who claim them as ancestors.

7 Stone Animals

As Lake Mungo dried, it became more alkaline. Today, Lake Natron in Tanzania has also become highly alkaline, and the effects of this are intriguing and beautiful in a macabre way.

Since water flows into Lake Natron but only escapes by evaporation, salts build up in the water. The extreme conditions make it a troubling location in which to live. It is home to only a single species of fish, some algae, and flamingos that feed on the algae. Other creatures that try to make their home by the lake suffer a terrible fate—they are turned to stone.

At least that is what it looks like. Dead animals that fall into the water are fantastically preserved by the salts which leach into their flesh. If they are washed up on the shore, then the drying water coats them in another layer of salt that seems to turn their bodies to white statues. Photographer Nick Brandt spent several weeks collecting and capturing the images of the animals that Lake Natron itself had ensnared.^[4]

6 Gold

In 2015, a 16-year-old girl on holiday went for a swim in Lake Konig. About 1.8 meters (6 ft) beneath the surface, she noticed something glittering and dived to pick it up.

In this case, all that glitters was gold. She came up with a 500-gram (17.6 oz) bar of pure gold worth an estimated €16,000. As the lake was only 3 kilometers (1.9 mi) from Hitler’s former holiday home, rumors immediately spread of Nazi treasure.

Six months after she handed the gold to police to identify its owner, the police returned the gold to the girl. Under German law, if the original owner does not claim a lost object within six months, then its finder becomes its keeper.

Research had proved that the gold bar was not Nazi in origin. But whoever placed it in the lake had gone to the trouble of defacing the number on the bar, which would have made tracing its owner easier. How the gold bar came to be lying at the bottom of the lake in the first place will likely never be known.^[5]

5 A Forest And Cart

Detroit Lake was only formed in 1953 when a dam was built. The reservoir created by this has become a home to fish and other creatures but is directly on top of Old Detroit. Each year, as the water level falls and the banks of the lake are exposed, the stumps of trees cut down for use in the construction of the dam can be seen. However, the ghostly remains of the forest are not all that lurk in Detroit Lake.

In recent years, the lake has fallen to unprecedented low levels and hints of Old Detroit have emerged from their watery graves. In 2015, when the lake fell 44 meters (143 ft), a fully preserved 19th-century wagon was found sticking out of the mud.^[6]

Besides other remains of the town, which used to be home to 200 people, a strange octagonal pit was discovered. No one could say what exactly it was used for by the time that the lake refilled. Future archaeologists will just have to wait for another dry summer.

4 A Fortress?

Lake Van in Turkey is home to much archaeology—and possibly a monster according to local belief. But in 2017, it was announced that a castle had been found. It had been submerged for hundreds or thousands of years as the water level of the lake rose.

It was immediately and confidently stated in several articles that the cut stone walls of the building belonged to the Urartu civilization who lived in the area 3,000 years ago. One stone featured a carving of a lion, which supported the attribution of the site to the Urartu. But some took issue with the announcement.

The team of divers who discovered the site did not include any archaeologists, but they never claimed to have been experts. It was the press that made the initial jump to their having discovered a 3,000-year-old castle.^[7]

Also, the site had been known earlier. Others who had examined it felt that the site was probably only hundreds, rather than thousands, of years old. It is possible, though, that the walls discovered by the divers had been built by people who robbed stone from an ancient Urartu building. All that anyone can agree on conclusively is that more research is needed.

3 Tanks

The Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in World War II saw huge numbers of tanks sweeping across Eastern Europe. Belarus suffered greatly from the battles that occurred there, and many places still bear the scars of the titanic struggle.

Among the human remains and craters that have been found by archaeologists, however, are a surprising number of startlingly well-preserved tanks lurking in the lakes, bogs, and mires. One family, the Yakushevs, have become experts in finding them and freeing them from the mud.^[8]

Despite being buried and sunk for decades, many of the tanks found by the Yakushevs have been restored to working order. In many cases, it is the anaerobic conditions in the mud which have saved the tanks as no oxygen can get at them to rust them to nothing.

Much can be learned about conditions on the battlefront from the tanks that are found. One Soviet T-34 was found painted in Nazi colors after having been captured by them and sent into battle against its Soviet builders.

2 The Nemi Ships

Lake Nemi in Italy is a very small lake that was hiding a very large secret. Local fishermen had always been aware that there were sunken ships in the water, and they often dived down to recover artifacts that could be sold to tourists.

Early attempts at underwater archaeology failed. But in 1927, Mussolini ordered that the lake be drained and the ships fully exposed. What was found were the remains of two vessels, each around 76 meters (250 ft) long and 21 meters (70 ft) wide. If that seems insanely large, it will not be surprising that they were built by the somewhat unhinged emperor Caligula.

The ships were magnificent floating palaces. The hulls were coated with lead and the decks with marble, mosaics, and gilding. Exactly why Caligula had these ships built and placed on such a small lake will likely never be known.^[9]

The two ships were destroyed in a fire during World War II. But archaeologists are still searching Lake Nemi to see if there are any other remains waiting to be found.

1 Sword

Although Monty Python and the Holy Grail tells us that “strange women lyin’ in ponds distributin’ swords is no basis for a system of government,” there were those who suggested that an eight-year-old Swedish-American girl had proved herself a real queen when she pulled an ancient sword from a lake.

Saga Vanecek was skipping stones across Lake Vidostern when she reached to pull what she thought was a stick from the mud. Instead, she found a handle and raised the sword while saying, “Daddy, I’ve found a sword.”

It was not just any sword. At 1,500 years old, it predated the Vikings. The 85-centimeter-long (33 in) weapon is now being restored. Archaeologists who searched the site for more artifacts recovered a brooch but do not yet know how the items ended up in the lake. More work is underway to see what else is waiting to be found.^[10]

The Great Lakes, inhabiting over 152,800 square kilometers (95,000 square miles) and filled with 27.3 quadrillion liters (6 quadrillion gallons) of water (no, really!), collectively make up the largest body of fresh water on earth. More than 170 species of fish (and perhaps one Loch-Ness-like creature) lurk beneath the surface, and its waters have claimed over 6,000 ships.

But sunken vessels aren’t the only thing hanging out on the lakes’ sandy floors. Check out this list of truly weird things that can be found at the bottom of the Great Lakes.

Related: 10 Intriguing Discoveries In Lakes

10 A 1910 Locomotive Steam Engine

In June 1910, a rockslide derailed Canadian Pacific Railroad locomotive 694 as it traveled along Lake Superior’s sea cliffs just outside of Marathon, Ontario. Three men lost their lives when the engine, several boxcars, and a tender car crashed into the pile of rocks and then toppled into Lake Superior’s waters, settling at a depth of 18.3 meters (60 feet).

The wreckage rested there for 106 years, until shipwreck hunters located it in 2016. It is the Great Lakes’ only known locomotive wreck.^[1]

9 The Largest Unmodified Collection of Nash Automobiles in the World

Why are they “unmodified”? Well, they’re nearly 500 feet underwater, for starters, which makes it a little hard to add those dope suspension upgrades.

On October 31, 1929, the SS Senator left Milwaukee, headed to Detroit with 268 Nash Automobiles valued at $251,000 (over $3.8 million in 2020 dollars). In a murky fog, she was rammed by another ship, sinking in 8just eight minutes. As the ship came to its final resting place 131 meters (430 feet) below the surface of Lake Michigan, seven members of her 28-man crew perished in the icy waters.

The shipwreck was located in 2005 using a side sonar scanner. It was noted that the cars originally chained on deck were lying crumpled on their sides, but the vehicles housed within the steamer were perfectly preserved. While no historical documentation exists to indicate if the vessel carried 1929 or 1930 models, it is accepted to be the largest collection of unmodified Nash vehicles in existence. In 2016, the site of the wreckage was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[2]

8 Michigan’s Very Own Stonehenge

While using sonar equipment to locate shipwrecks in 2007, underwater archaeologists identified a circular formation of stones 40 feet deep beneath Lake Michigan. Dubbed a “miniature Stonehenge” by local media, the 1.25-meter (4-foot) tall rocks make it a bit shorter than the iconic megalith, but they’re equally as mysterious in their origins.

The formation is thought to have been assembled by the area’s Indigenous people, likely created during the last Ice Age when the lakebed was dry. One of the rocks features a possible hieroglyph of a mastodon, a hairy beast estimated to have gone extinct in the area about ten thousand years ago. Verifying its authenticity will help confirm the age of the Stonehenge-like formation.

For the moment, the purpose of the rocks remains a mystery, though a similar formation has been located on Beaver Island, a bit north of this location and on dry land. The existence of this second formation is a good indication that the stones aren’t a random accident.^[3]

7 An Ancient Hunting Camp

An arrangement of rocks, thought to be built for hunting, was found in Lake Huron at a depth of about 36.5 meters (120 feet) along the Alpena-Amberley Ridge that extends from Northeast Michigan to Southern Ontario. Nine thousand years ago, lake levels were approximately 76.2 meters (250 feet) less than what they are today, and archaeologists hypothesize that the ridge, with water on both sides, allowed hunters of migrating caribou a distinct advantage over their prey.

Using a remotely operated vehicle and sonar, scientists discovered two parallel lines of stones along the ridge that dead-ended in a way that would have allowed the hunters to trap the animals. Scattered along the path were additional V-shaped stone formations, thought to be hunting blinds. Divers at the site also discovered artifacts that native peoples might have used to sharpen and repair their hunting tools.^[4]

6 Rare World War II Fighter Planes

The Douglas Dauntless World War II fighter plane was rumored to take two hundred bullets and still see her pilot safely home. Few of them were spared from seeing a day in battle, and today only 14 known planes remain of the nearly 6,000 built between 1939 and 1944.

There are, however, about 75 of them sitting on the bottom of Lake Michigan.

Deciding the lake was far enough inland to be safe from attack, the U.S. Navy began training World War II carrier pilots there starting in 1942. It launched its first aircraft from the USS Wolverine, which, at 167 meters (550 feet) long, was shorter than the average aircraft carrier. It was thought that if a pilot could land on that shorter deck, he could land on any deck in the U.S. Navy.

Overall, the training program was a huge success, with 35,000 new pilots making more than 120,000 successful landings. But there were “misses” as well. U.S. Navy records show 128 losses and over 200 “accidents.” Most resulted in only minor injuries, and the Douglas Dauntless aircraft weren’t salvaged for repair unless they sunk in shallow water.

Efforts to recover the aircraft started in May 2004, and today several of those 14 existing planes are pieces of the collection found in Lake Michigan.^[5]

5 A World War I German U-Boat

In 1921, the U.S. Navy gunboat USS Wilmette fired eighteen 4-inch rounds at a German UC-97 submarine in the middle of Lake Michigan. Thirteen of the eighteen rounds struck the vessel, and it sunk in 200 feet of water.

More interesting, though, is what was a German U-Boat doing in Lake Michigan, to begin with?

German submarines were responsible for the sinking of dozens of Allied shipping and war vessels. When the war ended, the British seized the German navy, including 176 U-Boats. They allowed Allied nations to each take a few and study their adversary’s technology.

The United States took six boats. In addition to examining the technology, the U.S. opted to “tour” the boats to various ports, allowing the curious public to see the vessels that orchestrated so much wartime carnage. A UC-97 was sailed up the St. Lawrence Seaway and became the first submarine to ever enter the Great Lakes. Tourists in various ports paid a modest fee to see the boat, which was applied to the U.S. war debt. When the tour was complete, it was towed out to the middle of Lake Michigan, where the U.S. Navy training ship USS Wilmette used it as target practice, sinking it per the requirements of the Treaty of Versailles.

Attempts to find the sunken U-Boat were underway as early as the 1960s, but the sunken wreckage wasn’t located again until 1992.^[6]

4 An 11-Foot Marble Crucifix

Unlike many other items on this list, the Italian-made marble crucifix ended up in Lake Michigan, 244 meters (800 feet) off the shore in Petoskey, Michigan, quite on purpose.

Commissioned by a Michigan couple as a grave marker in the 1950s, the statue was carved in Italy and features a traditional, life-sized depiction of a 1.67-meter (5-foot-5-inch) Jesus on a cross that stands at 3.35 meters (11-feet) total. Unfortunately, it suffered a crack when shipped overseas. The couple ultimately rejected it, and it was sold at an insurance sale.

The Wyandotte Diving Club purchased it to commemorate a diver who’d died doing what he loved. The statue was positioned about 365 meters (1,200 feet) offshore in Lake Michigan, where divers could enjoy it and pay their respects.

In the early 1980s, the Michigan Skindiving Council began a salvage and restoration process, moving it closer to shore and adding a new base. The president of the Little Traverse Bay Dive Club suggested a winter viewing of the memorial, now sitting at a depth of about 6.5 meters (21 feet). He provided some underwater lighting, and now, when icy conditions permit, visitors walk out to view it through a hole in the ice.^[7]

3 Old Whitey, the Preserved Corpse of the USS Kamloops

The Great Lakes, at their depths, stay at a temperature of about 4°C (40°F), and its clear, sterile waters are perfect for keeping sunken items well preserved. This includes all the bodies of sailors who went down with their ships.

When the cargo vessel USS Kamloops sunk in Lake Superior in December 1927, it remained lost for fifty years. Upon its rediscovery, divers found that the ship had been amazingly preserved in Superior’s cold, bacteria-free environs. Lifesavers candy was found still in its packaging. Shoes, furniture, and fixtures were found in near perfect condition, and faucets even still turned.

This was also true of the body they found in the engine room. Because of a natural process that occurs in cold temperatures after a human body dies, corpses take on a white, waxy appearance, which explains why divers have since nicknamed the engine room steward “Whitey.” He remains there, in his watery grave, waiting to greet others who explore his boat.

While Whitey is a notable Lake Superior corpse, he is one of many to have gone down with his ship on the Great Lakes. Many wrecks are controlled diving sites for this reason—families of the dead don’t want their loved ones disturbed in their final resting place.^[8]

2 A Seven-Room, Fully Furnished Vacation House

The 6.5-kilometer (4-mile) path between Bayside, Wisconsin, and Madeline Island in Lake Superior was frozen over in the winter of 1977. But was it frozen enough to move a house across?

Lyle Rhine of Dale Movers in Minneapolis was convinced it was. He had an ice road explicitly plowed for the purpose of moving the house from the mainland to the island. On March 2, the four-mile ride commenced.

It progressed pretty well for the first three of those miles.

At the three-mile mark, the tires of the trailer holding the house broke through the ice. Lyle and his riding partner, who had been wisely driving with the doors of their vehicle open, bailed from the truck while it was still in gear. The truck sank first, and then the home, in 21 meters (70 feet) of water.^[9]

The following summer, the Coast Guard insisted the owner salvage the wreckage, and the truck was brought to the surface. Cables were tied to the house in hopes of keeping it intact, but efforts to raise it were unsuccessful…it broke into pieces and remains on the lake’s floor.

1 Canadian Model Airplanes

Okay, these weren’t just any model airplanes. These 1/8-scale models were for a cutting-edge aircraft built by Avro Canada for the Royal Canadian Air Force…in the 1950s.

These models were flown over Lake Ontario as the plane was being developed, testing the “delta wing” design to confirm performance at Mach 1 and Mach 2 speeds. The Avro Arrow, as it was called, was the only supersonic interceptor ever built in Canada, constructed in response to Soviet long-range bombers that could conceivably attack North America by crossing the Arctic Circle.

Canada’s Prime Minister abruptly canceled the initiative in 1959. Six completed planes were scrapped, as well as nine of the models that tested aircraft performance at various milestones in its design. It’s been suggested that Soviet spies had infiltrated the development center, and efforts were made to destroy the technology so it could not be replicated.

Four of the nine models have been recovered from Lake Ontario’s sandy floor and are being restored by the Canadian Conservation Institute.^[10]