The Rocky Mountains of Colorado may not be the first place you would expect to find a submarine - but that's exactly what sat at the bottom of Missouri Lake for nearly 50 years.

In 1898, Rufus T. Owens (of Central City) built a submarine and called it the Nautilus, according to Atlas Obscura . He and some friends launched it on Missouri Lake, ballasting it with three tons of rocks. Owens had intended to captain the maiden voyage but the submarine allegedly sank before he could even climb in.

The submarine then sat at the bottom of Missouri Lake and turned into a local legend. Since few people had witnessed the submarine's building and launch, many people believed that the story was fictional.

In January 1944, however, the town of Central City gathered on the shore and watched as the N

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