Nutrient-rich waters from deep underwater canyons give California’s Carmel Bay some of the best diving in the country. Here are the best spots to explore underwater.

With 840 miles of spectacular Pacific coastline, California offers abundant places for divers to get wet, from easily accessible shore-diving spots to offshore pinnacles and islands. And as underwater photographers will tell you, many of these sites offer gorgeous kelp forests brimming with marine life. We can’t possibly write about them all, but here are five amazing places in California to dive in kelp.

On Catalina, divers enjoy one of the best underwater parks in California

Our globe-trotting field reporter spent a day diving with the Scuba Diver Girls

This August, the staff of Monterey Bay Aquarium collected a juvenile great white shark near Malibu, California. As the sixth great white collected by the aquarium, the 4’ 7”, 43-pound male was put on display in the aquarium's million-gallon Open Sea exhibit on August 31st. Check out this video of the young white shark's journey to its new home at the aquarium.

This September, scuba divers from across the country will converge on Monterey, California, and compete for top prizes in one of the most unique underwater photography contests in the United States.

There’s no boat, divemaster, nor schedule to keep. These 10 destinations are among the best places in the world for shore diving, where walk-ins are welcome.

One of our most coveted awards: Find out which operators, resorts and liveaboards made our Top 100 Gold List!

At these seven sites, taking a walk off a pier might be the best move you’ll ever make. Some of the best diving on the planet is literally under your feet.