Coral Reef Travel is a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting coral reef ecosystems through education and action. Also providing diving related information.
// June 21st, 2010 // No Comments » // USA Dive Guide
Nestled in the heart of the rolling Central Texas Hill Country, the San Marcos River gurgles to life from limestone springs in the middle of the relaxed college town bearing its name. Four miles below the springs, the San Marcos merges with the Blanco River and flows southeasterly for 78 miles to its confluence with the Guadalupe River.
// June 21st, 2010 // No Comments » // USA Dive Guide
Although I’d heard a lot of good things about The Oasis from Texas divers, I had reservations. My mind kept flashing back to my last quarry dive – Racine, Wis., in the dead of winter. The water was murky, the temperatures barely above freezing, and the warm water we poured into our wetsuits might best be described as cold comfort. I swore off rock pits then and there.
// June 21st, 2010 // 1 Comment » // USA Dive Guide
This strangely clinical thought occurred to me as I counted more than 50 silky sharks passing between me and the psychological safety of the steel trellis supporting the Mobil High Island 389 natural gas platform: When encountering numerous predatory sharks, one should have a cage nearby.
// June 21st, 2010 // 2 Comments » // USA Dive Guide
OK, I’ll admit I laughed too when I first heard the name-Possum Kingdom. I envisioned legions of furry, beady-eyed woodland critters frolicking and splashing by the lakeshore, claiming sovereignty over this 20,000-acre watershed less than two hours west of Dallas. Could the name be for real, I wondered? I had to check it out. And I’m glad I did. Here in dusty, rolling north Texas I found one of the most picturesque lakes on the Great Plains. And it’s big, too: 69 river-miles long, more than three miles across at its widest point, 145 feet at its deepest. Folks come from Dallas/Fort Worth and as far away as Louisiana, Oklahoma and New Mexico to enjoy surface water temps that peak at 82F in summer, 45F in winter. Divers agree that PK has some of the best visibility in the state, averaging 20 feet and maxing out at 40 on a really good day.
// June 21st, 2010 // No Comments » // USA Dive Guide
The Freeport Liberty Ship Reef Complex is a story of tragedy and trash turned into treasure. This wide-ranging collection of shipwrecks and man-made reefs provides a sheltered habitat for fish and marine life in an area of the Gulf of Mexico that naturally affords no protection at all.
// June 21st, 2010 // 3 Comments » // USA Dive Guide
Eight years ago, no self-respecting diver would have dipped so much as a fin tip into the old clay quarry just a few blocks from downtown Athens, Texas. The water-filled pit and surrounding woodlands were just a convenient dumping ground for unwanted items, including a graveyard of 1,000 discarded refrigerators.
