Homestead Crater


Useful Information

Location: Homestead Resort, near Heberville. 70 km east of Salt Lake City.
Follow US-189 up Provo Canyon. At the end of Deer Creek Reservoir turn north on U-113 to Midway. At the main intersection turn left, after 4 blocks turn right, after 2 more blocks turn left again, follow road for 1 km.
(40° 31.429' N, 111° 29.091' W)
Open: All year daily 10-20, tours every hour on the half hour.
Fee: Crater Tour: Adults $2, Children (under 12) $1, Homestead guests free.
Soak, Swim or Snorkel: Weekdays per person $10, Guests $8. Weekends per person $15, Guests $10.
[2003]
Classification: SpeleologyLimestone cave
Light: LightIncandescent Electric Light System
Dimension: W=20 m, L=20 m, D=35 m, T=32-36 °C.
Guided tours:
Photography:
Accessibility:
Bibliography:
Address: The Homestead Resort, 700 North Homestead Drive, Midway, UT 84049, Tel: +1-435-654-1102, Fax: +1-800-327-7220.
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then.
Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History


Description

The Homestead Crater is a hot spring filled with water, between 32 and 36 °C warm. It is used as a hot spa by the nearby resort and it is also a famous scuba diving site, the only warm water scuba diving destination in the continental USA. There are informative tours telling about history, archeology and geology of the Homestead Crater. It is also possible to take a 40 min therapeutic bath or swim in the natural mineral water. It attracts many diving enthusiasts, who have the posibility to choose from an abundance of activities. There are one-hour scuba diving introductions, 35 min independent dives for certified divers, and public certification classes.

The crater is 20 m in diametre, the inside is shaped like a bell and about 10m deep from the top to the water level. The outside looks like a sphere segment, a very symmetric, rather flat dome. This is a result of the way it was formed, and is rather simple to understand. About 10,000 years ago the water formed a spring at this place. This meteoric water, rain and melting water from the nearby Wasatch Mountains, was heated when it seeped through cracks up to 3 km deep underground. The geothermic process powered a convection which transported cold water down and hot water back to the surface. When heated, and probably because of volcanic carbon dioxide, the water became aggressive and it started to dissolve the limestone. But as soon as it reached the surface, the water cooled, carbon dioxide vanished into the air, and the dissolved limestone became hard agan and was deposited around the spring. So the hill was formed, while inside the cave was corroded.

Today the entrance is an artificial tunnel, which starts at the outside of crater, at the base, and is 35 m long. It leads to a floating dock, which allows bathing and is the starting point for the divers. We are inside the shaft, where the hot water came up from deep below. It ends about 10 m above at the surface. The flow of the water changed, the spring is not active any more and the shaft is tody filled to this point with hot ground water.

The hot water contains a high amount of minerals and is therefore very usefull as cure or at least relief for various illnesses. A bath is also really enjoyable and so the owner uses the spring for wellness offers. However, the high temperature is strenuous to the body and so bot baths and dives are restricted to 40 min. A special sight is in winter, when you sit in the hot water while snow is falling through the window above.