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. No special equipment is needed for most reef dive sites, but sufficient skill in buoyancy and depth control is desirable so that the diver does not harm the ecosystem by clumsy impacts with the bottom or stirring up sediment. Drift diving may be optional or the default where the current is strong.
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.
Wall diving is a form of reef diving, where The main characteristic of the sites is that the terrain is predominantly near vertical. The height of the wall can vary from a few metres to hundreds of metres. The top of the wall must be within diving depth, but the bottom may be far below or reasonably close to the surface. Many wall dive sites are in close proximity to more gently sloping reefs and unconsolidated sediment bottoms. No special training is required, but good buoyancy control skills are necessary for safety. Wall dive sites vary considerably in depth, and many are suitable for drift diving when a moderate current flows along the wall.
Reef diving regions
- Deepest technical dive sites in the Gulf of Thailand
Reef dive sites
Wall diving regions
Specific regions known for wall dive sites include:
Wall dive sites
Great White Wall - Fiji Rainbow Reef - Fiji Half Moon Caye Wall - Lighthouse Atoll, Belize Bloody Bay - Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands Ghost Mountain - Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands East Chute/Cayman Mariner - Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands Haleiwa Trench - Oahu, Hawaii Black Rock - Maui, Hawaii Molokini - Maui, Hawaii Islas Marietas - Puerto Vallarta, Mexico El Chato - Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Mexico
Cave dive sites
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.
Caves with exclusively or mainly fresh water , Greece. , Ireland.
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, Florida, US.
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Blue holes
Freshwater dive sites
Flooded quarries and mines
near Tamworth, Staffordshire
Deep pools and tanks
Wreck diving regions Wreck diving regions: Regions known for having more than one shipwreck used as a recreational dive site:
List of shipwrecks in the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Wreck diving sites
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References
External links