Dive sites may be described in stand-alone articles if there is sufficient information, or as listings in regional dive guides. If you can't find a suitable dive guide article, you can create one or you can add a dive site listing in the Do section of a destination article. Someone else can move the listing to a more appropriate article later. (the template will add a maintenance category to the article to notify the janitorial staff)
We have a standardized format for dive site listings, and a template, Template:Divesitelisting, to help you format them.
When listing dive site options within a regional diving article (or temporarily in a destination article), use the following format.
Caption to display under site imageCaption to display under Image2Name of dive site, (also known as local or alternative name) is a Coral reef, Rocky reef, Wreck, Muck, Lake, Quarry, River etc dive sitein Region in which the dive site is located Location: Location of dive site relative to landmarks Access: Live-aboard, day boat or shore entry Directions: extra directions if useful Maximum depth at the site is Maximum depth at the site and minimum depth is Minimum depth of the site. 0 for sites that extend to the surface.. Most dives will not exceed Typical maximum depth of a dive at the site. Visibility is likely to be Usual range of visibility in feet or metres, and water temperature Usual temperature range in degrees Farenheit or Celsius. warm cool or cold if you don't know the temperature more accurately Topography: Description of the layout of the site. (Paragraph) Ecology: Animals and plants commonly seen or notable. (Paragraph) Features: Notable natural or artificial landmarks. (Paragraph) Hazards: Site-specific hazards. (Paragraph) Recommended equipment: Special equipment recommended for any dive at the site. (Paragraph) Special skills required: Special skills required for the site. (Paragraph) Permits: Permits, permission or fees payable to dive at the site. (Paragraph) Special cultural or ecological values. (Paragraph)One to five sentences about why this site is worth diving, things to pay special attention to, warnings, notes, historical or other background information.
The reion in which the dive site is located. Required.
site-image
Image file of something characteristic of the site. To display as right aligned thumbnail. Optional
site-map
Image file of a map of the site. To display as right aligned thumbnail with optional size parameter. Optional
ecology-image
Image file of a notable animal or plant photographed at the site. To display as right aligned thumbnail. Optional
feature-image
Image file of a notable feature of the site. To display as right aligned thumbnail. Optional
alt-name
If the dive site has a different name in the local language, add it here. Non-Latin scripts like Japanese, Devanagari, Cyrillic etc can be used. Optional
location
location of the dive site relative to easily recognizable landmarks. Abbreviate "Road", "Street", "Avenue", etc.
directions
Additional (local) directions for how to find the dive site (if useful). Do not include directions to the (article) destination.
lat
Latitude. Recommended.
long
Longitude. Recommended.
locationtype
Location type - Offshore, inshore, shoreline, or inland. Recommended
access
Access mode - Liveaboard, day boat or shore access. Recommended
altitude
Altitude of the water surface above sea level. Leave out for sea dives. Recommended for high altitudes
maxdepth
Maximum depth of water at the dive site. Recommended
mindepth
Minimum depth of water at the dive site. Recommended
divedepth
Maximum depth of a typical dive at the site. Optional
visibility
Typical range of underwater visibility at the site in conditions suitable for diving. Optional
temperature
Typical range of water temperature at the site in conditions suitable for diving. Optional
type
Coral reef, Rocky reef, Wreck, Muck, Lake, Quarry, River etc. Recommended
topography
Geographical layout of the site. Text description. Paragraph. Optional
ecology
Marine/aquatic organisms likely to be seen or for which the site is known. Paragraph. Optional
features
Notable permanent natural or artificial features at the site. Paragraph. Optional
hazards
Site specific hazards (not general hazards of diving or ubiquitous in the region) Paragraph. Optional
equipment
Special equipment needed or strongly recommended at the site, but not in general use in the region. Paragraph. Optional
skills
Special skills required to dive at the site. Paragraph. Optional
permits
Special permits, conditions of use or taxes related to the site. Paragraph. Optional.
respect
other
Any other information you think should be added. Paragraph. Optional
All fields above are optional except for "name". If you don't know some information, just leave that field empty, then somebody else can add those details later. Please do not delete any unused listing fields, change the name of the fields or add any extra ones. Doing so may create display irregularities and will certainly frustrate future edits and the addition of extra information to the listing.
Smits Reef, (also known as Birthday Reef, Horseshoe Reef) is an offshore rocky reef dive site in Smitswinkel Bay on the east side of the Cape Peninsula in the Western Cape
Location: ("lat", "long") South side of Smitswinkel Bay, just north of Batsata Rock
Access: Day boat
Directions: Launch at Miller's Point slipway, travel south parallel to the coast and across Smitswinkel Bay.
Maximum depth at the site is 25m and minimum depth is 6m. Most dives will not exceed 18 to 21m
Visibility is likely to be 4 to 12m, and water temperature 12 to 17°C
Topography: A large granite outcrop with many large and small boulders. The south end of the reef is very complex. Sand bottom surrounds the reef which is about 100m long north to south.
Ecology: Kelp forest and red bait colonies on top of the shallower areas, and the deeper areas are dominated by echinoderms, particularly sea cucumbers and brittlestars. A moderate variety of local reef fish can be seen.
Features: The Maze at the south end has several swim-throughs, and there is a large pinnacle to the west.
Hazards: When the local fishing boats are working the area they tend to pass overhead at speed.
Recommended equipment: A dive light is useful for looking into the many crevices and holes, and a reel with surface marker buoy will help passing boats avoid you when surfacing
Special skills required: Good buoyancy control is recommended
Permits: The site is in the Table mountain National Park Marine Protected Area. Scuba divers are required to buy an annual or monthly permit to dive in this MPA.
Some of the bryozoans are very fragile. Try not to bang around on the reef. This is a good area for macro photography.
Full listing:
* {{Divesitelisting
| name= Smits Reef | alt=Birthday Reef, Horseshoe Reef | location-type= offshore | site-type= rocky reef | region=Smitswinkel Bay on the east side of the [[Cape Peninsula]] in the [[Western Cape]]
| site-image= | site-image_width= | site-image_alt= | site-image_caption=
| site-map= Smits reef map.png | site-map_width= 300px | site-map_alt= Contour map of the dive site at Smits Reef | site-map_caption= Map of the dive sites at Smits Reef
| image2= | image2_alt= | image2_caption=
| location= South side of Smitswinkel Bay, just north of Batsata Rock | lat= | long= | directions= Launch at Miller's Point slipway, travel south parallel to the coast and across Smitswinkel Bay.
| access= Day boat
| altitude= Sea level
| max-depth= 25m | min-depth= 6m | dive-depth= 18 to 21m
| visibility= 4 to 12m| temperature= 12 to 17°C
| topography= A large granite outcrop with many large and small boulders. The south end of the reef is very complex. Sand bottom surrounds the reef which is about 100m long north to south.
| ecology= Kelp forest and red bait colonies on top of the shallower areas, and the deeper areas are dominated by echinoderms, particularly sea cucumbers and brittlestars. A moderate variety of local reef fish can be seen.
| features= The Maze at the south end has several swim-throughs, and there is a large pinnacle to the west.
| hazards= When the local fishing boats are working the area they tend to pass overhead at speed.
| equipment= A dive light is useful for looking into the many crevices and holes, and a reel with surface marker buoy will help passing boats avoid you when surfacing
| skills= Good buoyancy control is recommended
| permits= The site is in the Table mountain National Park Marine Protected Area. Scuba divers are required to buy an annual or monthly permit to dive in this MPA
| respect= Some of the bryozoans are very fragile. Try not to bang around on the reef.
| other= This is a good area for macro photography.
}}
...shows up like this:
Map of the dive sites at Smits ReefSmits Reef, (also known as Birthday Reef, Horseshoe Reef) is an offshore rocky reef dive sitein Smitswinkel Bay on the east side of the Cape Peninsula in the Western Cape Location: South side of Smitswinkel Bay, just north of Batsata Rock Access: Day boat Directions: Launch at Miller's Point slipway, travel south parallel to the coast and across Smitswinkel Bay. Maximum depth at the site is 25m and minimum depth is 6m. Most dives will not exceed 18 to 21m. Visibility is likely to be 4 to 12m, and water temperature 12 to 17°C Topography: A large granite outcrop with many large and small boulders. The south end of the reef is very complex. Sand bottom surrounds the reef which is about 100m long north to south. Ecology: Kelp forest and red bait colonies on top of the shallower areas, and the deeper areas are dominated by echinoderms, particularly sea cucumbers and brittlestars. A moderate variety of local reef fish can be seen. Features: The Maze at the south end has several swim-throughs, and there is a large pinnacle to the west. Hazards: When the local fishing boats are working the area they tend to pass overhead at speed. Recommended equipment: A dive light is useful for looking into the many crevices and holes, and a reel with surface marker buoy will help passing boats avoid you when surfacing Special skills required: Good buoyancy control is recommended Permits: The site is in the Table mountain National Park Marine Protected Area. Scuba divers are required to buy an annual or monthly permit to dive in this MPA Some of the bryozoans are very fragile. Try not to bang around on the reef.This is a good area for macro photography.
Images of dive sites are encouraged, provided the photo was actually taken at that site, and shows something characteristic of the site. Photos of yourself, your dive buddy or the dive leader are not appropriate unless they show something of interest to other divers who may wish to dive there. Photos of the dive shop are almost never appropriate.
If there are more than 9 dive sites listed in a regular destination article, it qualifies for a regional diving article. Consider writing one, or leave a message on the talk page suggesting that someone should write one. You can also leave a note at the Travellers' pub or on the talk page of Scuba diving.
Alphabetical order should be the norm within each section. If another standard is used, it should be clearly stated so any new listing can be added to the appropriate place. Leading articles, such as "The", or "A", in the accommodation name should be ignored for the purposes of determining the order.
