Three Barges
Florida · Up to 16.5 m
Artificial reef built from 3 Coal Barges and Concrete Rubble
Boat entry
Florida, United States Dive Sites — Page 6
Showing 121–144 of 144
Continued from the Florida, United States dive sites guide, which covers seasonality and planning details.
Three Coal Barges
Florida · Up to 16.5 m
Three runaway coal barges were scuttled during an emergency in 1974 about a mile off Pensacola Beach and now form site #1 of the Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail. The barges sit in roughly 50-54 feet of water and, after five decades of storms, are slowly collapsing into low-relief steel reef. Their shallow depth, easy layout and abundant fish make them a favorite for newly certified divers and skills training.
Boat entry
Thunderbolt
Florida · Up to 36 m
Artificial reef built from 188' Navy Cable Vessel, the "USS Thunderbolt"
AdvancedBoat entry
Timothy Allen Reed Reef
Florida · Up to 19.8 m
Artificial reef built from 80' Barge Sunk by DERM
IntermediateBoat entry
Tortuga Ship
Florida · Up to 33.5 m
Artificial reef built from 165' Steel Ship, the "M/V Tortuga"
AdvancedBoat entry
Triumph Reef
Florida · —
Triumph Reef is a shallow patch reef on the outer reef line at the southeastern edge of Biscayne National Park, north of Pacific Reef Light. Like the park's other named outer reefs (Long, Ajax, Pacific), it is boat-access only and protected under National Park rules, with healthy hard corals, sea fans and abundant reef fish in clear, warm water. Its shallow crown suits snorkelers while the surrounding slopes give easy novice scuba profiles.
Boat entry
Troy Spring
Florida · 1.2–21.3 m
Troy Spring is a first-magnitude spring on the Suwannee River in Troy Spring State Park, with a clear bowl dropping to about 70 ft — one of the deepest open-water spring dives in Florida that requires no cavern certification. In the shallow spring run lie the ribs of the Madison, a Confederate sidewheel steamboat scuttled in 1863 to keep it from Union capture. Diving is open-water only: certified divers with a buddy, no lights and no cave penetration.
Shore entry
Tug Ocean Wind
Florida · Up to 25.3 m
Artificial reef built from 87' X 25' X 31' Steel Tugboat, the "Ocean Wind"
IntermediateBoat entry
Tugboat "Zuess"
Florida · Up to 32.6 m
Artificial reef built from Tugboat, the "Zuess", 2nd of 2 loads
AdvancedBoat entry
United Caribbean
Florida · Up to 21.3 m
Artificial reef built from 140' X 25' Coastal Freighter
IntermediateBoat entry
USS Massachusetts
Florida · 0–9.1 m
USS Massachusetts (BB-2), launched in 1893 and considered the oldest American battleship still in existence, was used as an artillery target off Pensacola in 1920-21 and settled in about 26 feet of water at the mouth of Pensacola Pass. The 350-foot hulk is now a Florida Underwater Archaeological Preserve and listed site, with her turrets visible above the surface at low tide. The shallow, sunlit wreckage swarms with marine life, but ripping tidal currents make slack-tide timing mandatory.
IntermediateBoat entry
USS Mohawk CGC V.M.R.
Florida · Up to 27.4 m
Artificial reef built from 165' X 35' X 55' Ex-US Coast Guard Cutter, the "Mohawk"
IntermediateBoat entry
USS Oriskany
Florida · 25.6–64.6 m
The USS Oriskany (CV-34), an 888-foot Essex-class aircraft carrier that served in Korea and Vietnam, was scuttled in 2006 about 22.5 nautical miles southeast of Pensacola Pass to become the world's largest artificial reef — the 'Great Carrier Reef' and flagship of the Florida Panhandle Shipwreck Trail. She sits upright in 212-220 feet of water; the island tower tops out near 84 feet, the flight deck lies at about 145 feet and the hangar bay at 175 feet, putting most of the ship in technical-diving territory. Squadrons of amberjack circle the superstructure, which is now heavily colonized by corals, sponges and baitfish.
ExpertBoat entry
USS Strength
Florida · Up to 23.5 m
Artificial reef built from 184' Minesweeper Tender, the "USS Strength"
IntermediateBoat entry
Vamar Shipwreck Site
Florida · —
A wreck dive in United States. The site is reached by boat. Rated intermediate based on available data.
IntermediateBoat entry
Veteran's Reef 2016 Addition
Florida · Up to 13.7 m
Artificial reef built from 180' X 30' X 10' Barge with P2V-3 Bomber Cabled to It
Boat entry
Volusia Blue Spring
Florida · 1.5–36.6 m
Volusia Blue Spring is a first-magnitude spring on the St. Johns River in Blue Spring State Park, famous as one of Florida's largest winter manatee refuges. Open water divers can descend the steep limestone chimney to about 50-60 ft, where a warning sign marks the cave entrance; cave-certified divers can continue to roughly 120 ft against very strong flow. The spring run and boil are closed to all water activities from mid-November to mid-March while hundreds of manatees shelter in the 72°F water.
IntermediateShore entry
Vortex Spring
Florida · 1.5–35.1 m
Vortex Spring is the largest commercial dive facility in Florida, a privately run spring resort in the Panhandle near Ponce de Leon producing about 28 million gallons of 68°F water daily. The 200 ft diameter basin slopes to a cavern entrance at 58 ft, with a gated cave continuing to 115 ft for certified cave divers (measured passage ~1,640 ft). Resident freshwater fish and even introduced koi make the shallow basin a favorite for open water training and check-out dives.
AdvancedShore entry
Wakulla Big Bend Regional Reef 1
Florida · Up to 6.7 m
Artificial reef built from 24 Pre-Fabricated Cubes 1M on a Side 50M Spaced Hexagon
Boat entry
Wakulla Big Bend Regional Reef 2
Florida · Up to 6.7 m
Artificial reef built from 96 Pre-Fabricated Cubes 1M on a Side 50M Spaced Hexagon
Boat entry
Weeki Wachee Spring
Florida · —
Weeki Wachee Spring is a first-magnitude spring famous for its 1947-era underwater mermaid theater, now operated as a Florida state park with the Buccaneer Bay swim area and river cruises. It sits atop the deepest known underwater cave system in the United States, explored past 400 ft by Karst Underwater Research divers under special permit. Public scuba diving is not allowed; swimming is limited to the adjacent Buccaneer Bay area.
Shore entry
White Coast Tug
Florida · Up to 20.7 m
Artificial reef built from 38' Steel Tug, the "White Coast"
IntermediateBoat entry