Diving locations

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This article identifies popular recreational diving sites around the world and describes the features of a dive site.

Contents

[edit] Bodies of water for diving

Most bodies of water can be used as dive sites:

  • Lakes - small lakes are often used for diver training. Large lakes have many features of seas including wrecks and a variety of marine life. Man-made lakes, such as clay pits and gravel pits, often have lower visibility.
  • Caves - these are more adventurous and dangerous than normal diving. See cave diving.
  • Rivers - are often shallow, murky and have strong currents.
  • Quarries - abandoned rock quarries are popular in inland areas for diver training as well as recreational diving. Rock quarries also have reasonable underwater visibility - there is often little mud or sand to create mid-water particles that cause low visibility. As they are not "wild" and usually privately owned, quarries often contain objects intentionally placed for divers to explore, such as sunken boats, automobiles, aircraft, and even structures like grain silos and gravel chutes.

[edit] Dive site features

Many types of underwater feature make an interesting dive site, for example:

NASA image [1] showing locations of significant coral reefs, which are often sought out by divers for their abundant, diverse life forms.
Enlarge
NASA image [1] showing locations of significant coral reefs, which are often sought out by divers for their abundant, diverse life forms.
  • The Topography of the site. Coral reefs, drop offs (underwater cliffs), rock reefs, gullies and caves can be spectacular. Deep dive sites mean divers must reduce the time they spend because more gas is breathed at depth and decompression sickness risks increase. Shallow regions can be investigated by snorkeling.
  • Historical or cultural items at the site. Ship wrecks and sunken aircraft, apart from their historical value, form artificial habitats for marine fauna making them attractive dive sites.
  • Underwater visibility varies widely. Poor visibility is caused by particles in the water, such as mud, sand and sewage. Dive sites that are close to sources of these particles, such as human settlements and river estuaries, are more prone to poor visibility. Currents can stir up the particles. Diving close to the sediments on the seabed can result in the particles being kicked up by the divers fins.
  • Temperature. Warm water diving is comfortable and convenient. Although cold water is uncomfortable and can cause hypothermia it can be interesting because different species of underwater life thrive in cold conditions. Cold water means divers tend to prefer Dry suits with inner thermal clothing which offer greater thermal protection although require training and experience to use properly.
  • Currents. Tidal currents can transport nutrients to underwater wildlife increasing the variety and density of that life at the site. Currents can also be dangerous to divers as they can result in the diver being swept away from his or her surface support. Tidal currents that meet solid underwater vertical surfaces can cause strong up or down currents that are dangerous because they may cause the diver to lose buoyancy control risking barotrauma.

[edit] Popular diving locations

The following list of popular or interesting dive sites is shown by region, country and place.

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

[edit] Africa

[edit] Americas - North, Central and South

[edit] Australia

[edit] Asia

[edit] Pacific

[edit] Europe

[edit] Other diving regions

[edit] See also

[edit] External links

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