Inland Scuba Diving

Inland diving is diving that takes place in lakes or rivers or any location that isn't in the open ocean. Inland Scuba Diving can be recreational or commercial. The most common commercial inland dives often involve construction or maintenance of structures such as bridges or ships. Police forces around the world also perform inland diving when they retrieving evidence and victims from rivers and lakes etc.

But for the recreational diver it can take place in a number of places, including caves, abandoned mines, and even a flooded, abandoned storage silo in Abilene, TX. in England. There are various sites which provide the opportunity to dive in winter or inclement weather. Old quarries offer perfect spots for diving centres and are often filled with items such as sunken boats, planes, old Land Rovers and platforms that can be used as swim throughs.

Most inland diving however, takes place in lakes, caves and rivers. Cave diving requires a level of experience due to the unique conditions. Lack of visibility due to silt is a common factor and losing your bearings in the maze of tunnels that branch off of the main throughway are extremely dangerous. Because some of the inland lakes can be quite cold through the winter, even enough to have ice coverage, it is advisable to use a dry suit for warmth. For most of the year, a wet suit should be adequate. Normally if there is ice coverage on lakes and rivers, no diving are allowed, unless you are a certified ice diver or in training to become one. In the US, north-western Wisconsin has an area of inland lakes that is popular for diving and although not like the kind of diving you will see in the tropics with colourful reefs and rainbow hued marine life, it can provide a different kind of experience with many of the lakes either full of freshwater fish naturally or stocked. Different habitats and sunken wrecks can also be seen.

Connecticut has an extensive coastline and inland lakes, where it is surmised that much historical artefacts of great value were lost. Historic Connecticut records show that there are numerous sites where sunken artefacts (that might hold the key to our past) are buried. A movement to encourage divers, who find any artefacts, to share it with the Connecticut Office of State Archaeology are in full swing.

Michigan and the Great Lakes in the United States have a rare mixture of inland diving and shipwrecks!

So, whether you are simply looking to keep up your diving practice through the winter months, hoping to do some marine archaeology or find sunken treasure at one of the wreck sites, inland diving is for you.

All over the world there are flooded caves that divers explore at their own risk. This is the kind of diving that should only be undertaken by the very experienced and those who are prepared to accept the risks and consequences.

Having said that, it is also incredibly rewarding and one kind of diving that is gaining in popularity. The Woodville Karst Plain Project in Florida aims to survey the entire flooded cave system of the North Florida Woodville Karst Plain. There are many more cave systems that have not yet been fully explored or surveyed which means there are still new places for the dedicated cave diver yet to discover...