New Jersey Scuba Diving

Deep and dark, the Mud Hole is the Hudson River's channel from a time when the oceans were much lower. Today it collects all the silt and sediment that the river carries out to the sea, making it a very fertile fishing ground, frequented by pelagic fishes and sharks.

With depths ranging from 130 to 200 ft and difficult diving conditions, most Mud Hole wrecks are beyond the capability of a typical recreational diver without specialized equipment and experience. Where river water mixes with seawater, suspended particles form a constant snow of sediment in a process known as flocculation. This results in very dark and turbid conditions, often with visibility measured in inches and total darkness at the bottom. In addition to this, most Mud Hole wrecks are heavily fished and are covered with dangerous tangles of monofilament and fishing nets.

Mud Hole

The Mud Hole deepens into the Glory Hole, which deepens further into the Hudson Canyon, which follows the path of a seismic fault and eventually runs off the edge of the continental shelf down into the abyss at over a mile depth. Along the northeast edge of the Mud Hole is a relatively shallower plateau known as the Monster Ledge, on which lies the most well-known and accessible Mud Hole wreck, the Arundo.

Interestingly, all of the wartime Mud Hole wrecks with the exception of the Arundo are victims of collision rather than enemy action, which attests to the enormous amount of shipping in the region at that time.

Not marked on the chart: Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bompensiero, former Soprano family capo and FBI snitch, 2000. Sleeps with the fishes.