El Golfo Sunken Crater Reef
Dive site
El Golfo is a partially collapsed volcanic crater whose western half was swallowed by the sea, creating a submerged amphitheatre of basalt walls that drop from 3 m at the lip to open ocean. The exposed seaward face of the crater rim forms a sheer wall to 30 m, colonised by yellow and orange encrusting sponge, fan corals, and black coral at depth. Inside the sheltered bowl, juvenile fish nursery habitat develops in spring and a dense cloud of silverside baitfish forms by August, attracting amberjack and barracuda in hunting formation. The external geology — layers of basalt, tuff, and lapilli exposed in cross section — is unparalleled for underwater volcanic study.
Conditions
Depth
3 to 30 m
Open water and up
Current
Usually gentle
Can pick up on the edge
Visibility
15 to 25 m
Clearest in the calm season
Water
17 to 25°C
3 mm wetsuit
Month by month
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water (°C) | 18 | 17 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 22 | 23 | 23 | 22 | 20 | 19 |
| Vis (m) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 15 | 15 | 15 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 15 | 10 | 10 |
| Current | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Gentle | Gentle | Gentle | Gentle | Gentle | Gentle | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate |
Your chances of seeing each animal
Blacktail comber
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Atlantic trumpetfish
Photo: Luis P. B. · CC BY-NC
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Greater amberjack
Photo: Luis P. B. · CC BY-NC
Rare
Now and then
Field journal
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