CENTRAL CITY, Colo. — It might be one of the most bizarre things to ever be discovered in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains: a submarine the size of a small bus.

That’s right. A thousand miles away from any ocean, in a land-locked state, 9,000 feet up, sat a man-made submarine.

It was built by an engineer named Rufus Owen in 1898. Owen’s design was pretty flawless, according to modern-day engineers. Yet despite his skill, the sub still sunk.

“His friends who were helping him load it were not as careful as they should have been and they threw off the balance,” said David Forsyth, Executive Director and Curator of the Gilpin History Museum.

The submarine lay dormant 15 feet under Missouri Lake near Black Hawk for decades, before a local man decided to pull it back on land.

The rest of the story is incredibly fascinating! To see it, watch Kevin Torres‘ ‘Unique 2 Colorado‘ report by clicking ‘play’ on the video above.