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Sunken Tugboat
Photograph by Heather Perry, National Geographic
An abundance of shallow reefs have made the British Virgin Islands a scuba diver's paradise—and a boat captain's nightmare. Here, the wreck of a tugboat rests in its sandy Caribbean grave.
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Cayman Islands Wreck
Photograph by Joe Stancampiano, National Geographic
Divers and fish hover over the remains of a ship that broke up on one of the many shallow reefs around the Cayman Islands, West Indies.
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Prow of the Titanic
Photograph by Emory Kristof, National Geographic
A submersible's lighting gives a ghostly glow to the rusted prow of the R.M.S. Titanic. The famed ocean liner, which sank after hitting an iceberg in April 1912, was discovered in 1985 near Newfoundland under some 12,500 feet (3,800 meters) of water.
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World War II Plane
Photograph by David Doubilet, National Geographic
A diver explores the wreckage of a Japanese World War II fighter plane near the town of Rabaul in Papua New Guinea. The waters around Rabaul, which was a Japanese stronghold during the war, are strewn with the broken remains of both Allied and Axis warships and aircraft.
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U.S.S. President Coolidge
Photograph by David Doubilet, National Geographic
Divers swim near a guntub on the sunken U.S.S. President Coolidge near Vanuatu's Espiritu Santo Island. Built in 1931 as a luxury cruise liner, the Coolidge was converted to military use during World War II. It sank in 1942 after inadvertently striking an American mine while approaching Espiritu Santo.
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Philippines Wreck
Photograph by Wolcott Henry, National Geographic
The rusted hulk of a shipwreck sits in shallow water off Tubbataha Reef in the Philippines. Covering more than 81,000 acres (32,000 hectares) in the heavily trafficked Sulu Sea, shallow Tubbataha has scuttled more than its share of vessels.
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Coral-Encrusted Wreck
Photograph by David Doubilet, National Geographic
The reefs of the Red Sea are as deadly as they are rich. Here, divers explore the coral-encrusted remains of the British Carnatic, which sunk in September 1869 after running aground near Gubal Island.
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Sunken Treasure
Photograph by Bill Curtsinger, National Geographic
A gold chalice is flanked by an amphora (left) and a two-handled cup called a kylix (right) amid the wreckage of an ancient merchant vessel in the Mediterranean Sea. The 50-foot (15-meter) ship was laden with valuables and commodities when it sank some 3,400 years ago near Turkey.
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Bahamas Wreck
Photograph by Nick Caloyianis, National Geographic
Centuries of heavy trans-Atlantic maritime traffic has littered North America's coastal waters with unfortunate ships like this small vessel near the Bahamas.
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