Hierarchical outline list of articles about rereational dive sites
Recreational diver over a coral reef in the Red SeaSatellite image of part of the Great Barrier ReefWreck of the Fujikawa MaruUSNS Vandenberg in 2015.Wreck of the RMS RhoneThe wreck of the tugboat MV Rozi rests on the seabed at 35 metersThe wreck of Salem Express in 2010, 19 years after she sank.Bow of the Spiegel GroveAnti-aircraft gun on the stern of the ThistlegormDeck of the Um Al FaroudEntrance to the cave system at Dos OjosDiving at Piccaninnie pondsDiving at Stoney CoveWazee Lake near Black River Falls, Wisconsin is a former iron mining quarry now used for scuba diving and other uses.Recreational dive sites of the greater Cape Town region.NASA image [1] showing locations of significant coral reefs, which are often sought out by divers for their abundant, diverse life forms.
Recreational dive sites are specific places that recreational scuba divers go to enjoy the underwater environment or for training purposes. They include technical diving sites beyond the range generally accepted for recreational diving. In this context all diving done for recreational purposes is included. Professional diving tends to be done where the job is, and with the exception of diver training and leading groups of recreational divers, does not generally occur at specific sites chosen for their easy access, pleasant conditions or interesting features.
Recreational dive sites may be found in a wide range of bodies of water, and may be popular for various reasons, including accessibility, biodiversity, spectacular topography, historical or cultural interest and artifacts (such as shipwrecks), and water clarity. Tropical waters of high biodiversity and colourful sea life are popular recreational diving vacation destinations. South-east Asia, the Caribbean islands, the Red Sea and the Great Barrier Reef of Australia are regions where the clear, warm, waters, reasonably predictable conditions and colourful and diverse sea life have made recreational diving an economically important tourist industry.
Recreational divers may accept a relatively high level of risk to dive at a site perceived to be of special interest. Wreck diving and cave diving have their adherents, and enthusiasts will endure considerable hardship, risk and expense to visit caves and wrecks where few have been before. Some sites are popular almost exclusively for their convenience for training and practice of skills, such as flooded quarries. They are generally found where more interesting and pleasant diving is not locally available, or may only be accessible when weather or water conditions permit.
While divers may choose to get into the water at any arbitrary place that seems like a good idea at the time, a popular recreational dive site will usually be named, and a geographical position identified and recorded, describing the site with enough accuracy to recognise it, and hopefully, find it again. (Full article...)
Reef dive sites
In the context of recreational diving, a reef may be a coral reef or a bottom of predominantly consolidated inorganic material, like rocky reef, and in the broader sense includes artificial structures and even ships sunk as artificial reefs.
Reef diving regions are geographical regions of arbitrary size known for including more than one named reef dive site, while a reef dive site is a specific part of a reef known by a name, which recreational divers visit to dive.
Many cave dive sites are fresh water, but there are some that are sea water and a few that are partly fresh and partly sea water, and these may have a distinct halocline.
Sea cave – Cave formed by the wave action of the sea and located along present or former coastlines
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