(Tribune News Service) — Just off the coast of the Myrtle Beach area, unique pieces of history lie beneath the water.

Adventurers willing to don their scuba gear and trek miles from the shore can get a firsthand look at the structures that hide in the sea. Beneath the waves, shipwrecks, military items and subway cars have become habitats for ocean creatures such as rays and barracudas. These pieces of history live on as artificial reefs and spots for divers to explore.

Many of the artificial reefs are placed intentionally by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. SCDNR sinks everything from ships, to army tanks to provide ocean habitats and improve fish populations. The department has been constructing these reefs for more than 40 years, cleaning the vessels and materials before giving them new life as places for marine populations to thrive, according to its website.

Among the sunken vessels are dozens of U.S. Army tanks and New York City Subway cars. For example, the Jim Caudle Reef in Little River was created with 13 Army tanks and hundreds of concrete cones, while the Little River Offshore Reef includes 19 Army tanks, as well as tugboats, landing crafts and barges, The Sun News previously reported.

The Bill Perry reef near Murrells Inlet houses 44 old New York City subway cars. This reef also houses a military landing craft and a tug boat sunk in the 1990s, which have become covered in a variety of hard and soft corals. The subway cars were added in 2003, but have significantly worn away, according to Coastal Scuba.

Materials for reefs like these are often donated by sport fishing and diving clubs, as well as other agencies and organizations. SCDNR also has a history of working with the state National Guard to sink equipment like armored carriers and ships, The Sun News previously reported.

Some of the Grand Strand’s undersea treasures hold even deeper histories.

Nearly 50 miles out to sea near Murrells Inlet, the “Twin Cities” wreck lies about a hundred feet underwater. The wreck consists of two historic ships that rest about a quarter mile apart, and have become a popular dive site for advanced divers. The Hebe, a cargo vessel and the St. Cathan, a converted trawler, collided on a dark night in April 1942, sending them both into the depths.

The St. Cathan was stationed at a Naval base near Charleston during World War II’s hunting of German submarines. The boat had 39 sailors on board as it ventured to the Frying Pan Shoals area to search for the U-boats, while the Hebe headed south from New York. They collided along the way, according to the South Carolina Maritime Museum.

Another historic ship, the Sherman, lies under 52 feet of water 6 miles from the Little River inlet. The post-Civil War wreck is more than 140 years old, and has become a home for bountiful marine life. The 200-foot blockade runner also houses many artifacts, from bottles and buttons to fossils, and is a good dive site for divers of all skill levels, according to Coastal Scuba.

The Sherman was originally called the Princess Royal, and was built in 1861. It was captured by Union Navy forces while trying to run a blockade on Charleston in January 1863, according to the Caledonian Maritime Research Trust.

About 22 miles off the coast of the Murrells Inlet area, the Suwanee, formerly known as the Governor, rests under 80 feet of water. The ship is a 200-foot Civil War paddle wheeler, and brass artifacts and other items have been discovered by divers there, according to Coastal Scuba and anecdotal accounts from divers online.

All of these shipwrecks and artificial reefs are now inhabited by schools of bait fish, barracuda, and sometimes camouflaged octopus and flounder hiding in plain sight, as well as numerous kinds of coral. Numerous other ships, reefs and structures stud the South Carolina coast and are accessible by boat to enterprising divers.

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