An underwater environment is a environment of, and immersed in, liquid water in a natural or artificial feature (called a body of water), such as an ocean, sea, lake, pond, reservoir, river, canal, or aquifer. Some characteristics of the underwater environment are universal, but many depend on the local situation.

From The Yucatàn Peninsula, Borneo to Belize’s Barrier Reef, here are 12 of the worlds most impressive underwater environments.

From Lake Huron, Michigan, to Kazakhstan's famous Lake Kaindy, explore 12 otherworldly underwater forests, their history, and environmental value.

A seamount is an underwater mountain that can rise thousands of feet above the seafloor. Just as canyons funnel water, seamounts also influence the flow of water, often diverting deep currents. They are often found at the edges of tectonic plates where magma is able to rise through the surface crust.