Scuba Diving's exclusive guide to Southern California's big animal encounters. For more USA local dive sites, visit scubadiving.com

Diving without a boat can be as easy as a day at the beach if you know how to do it like a California native. Here's how West Coast divers handle the surf.

You're captain, divemaster and diver all rolled into one when you make your dives from a kayak. Here are the gear and skills you'll need, and the best sites.

Ever dive a missile silo? How about a volcanic crater or a lead mine? Where do we find this stuff? Off the highways and byways of the U.S.A.

A sampler of So Cal beach dives, where the crowds and cars end at the waterline.

Dive ocean pinnacles, visit the monastery, go digital, and more!

Diving Downtown: In this artsy tourist enclave, you're never more than a few blocks from great shore diving.

When you dive with sea lion pups off California's Santa Barbara Island, you've got to share your toys.

Deepwater Blues (Pacific blue sharks)