What do a clownfish, a shipwreck, and an eagle ray all have in common? You see them through a scuba mask, your window to the underwater world.

Scuba diving is swimming underwater using SCUBA - Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus. With the assistance of equipment such as masks, regulators, buoyancy devices, fins, and gauges; scuba divers can explore the underwater world. Scuba diving is safe and easy to learn, and all skills can be learned in as little as 3 days.

There are many types of scuba diving with always something new to see and do. Here are the 4 most popular types:

Recreational - this is the form of diving that is devoted to having fun by looking at fish and coral. After Open Water certification, you can complete courses in specialties including: night diving, deep diving, navigation, wreck diving, fish identification, underwater naturalism, photography, videography, cave diving, ice diving, altitude diving and rescue diving.

Technical - this encompasses areas such as extreme deep diving, advanced cave diving and wreck diving. Technical diving is for experienced recreational divers and requires special training and equipment.

Commercial - these divers scuba dive for a living. They build underwater structures such as oil platforms, underwater maintenance, conduct surveys, create maps, participate in salvage operations, and other diving related occupations.

Military - this is similar to commercial diving but also involves underwater surveillance, mine clearing, and military research.

Over two-thirds of the planet is covered by water, so you can dive almost anywhere. Tropical coral reefs are the most popular among recreational divers but there are also many wonderful things to be found in cold water environments such as lakes, rivers, and quarries.

Divers are found in all parts of the globe; from the tropical reefs of the Caribbean and Great Barrier Reef, to the world's largest lake in Siberia or under the ice of Antarctica, there is lots to be explored in the beautiful, underwater world. It's common to find local dive centers and dive clubs in most cities around the world --even inland cities with no water!