Outer Reef Wall
Dive site
Funafuti's outer face drops from a healthy 3-metre swell-kissed crest into 500 metres of open Pacific. Hard coral cover on the upper 15 metres is remarkably intact — a direct result of how few boats have ever anchored here. Blacktip and grey reef sharks orbit the lip continuously. Deeper on the wall, large colonies of sea fans and black coral mark depths most visitors never reach.
Conditions
Depth
5 to 40 m
Advanced depths
Current
Variable
Can pick up on the edge
Visibility
25 to 40 m
Clearest in the calm season
Water
26 to 30°C
3mm wetsuit
Month by month
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Water (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 |
| Vis (m) | 15 | 15 | 15 | 20 | 20 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 20 | 20 | 15 | 15 |
| Current | Moderate | Moderate | Gentle | Gentle | Gentle | calm | calm | calm | Gentle | Gentle | Moderate | Moderate |
Your chances of seeing each animal
Blacktip reef shark
Photo: Poseidon’s Adventure · CC BY-NC
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Hawksbill turtle
Photo: Kevin Bryant · CC BY-NC-SA
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Giant sea fan
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Dogtooth tuna
Photo: Luis P. B. · CC BY-NC
Sometimes
About 1 in 3 dives
Field journal
No sightings recorded here yet.
Upload the first sightingDived here recently?
Your sighting helps us track reef health at this site in real time.
Submit a sightingPlanning to dive Outer Reef Wall?
Your underwater photos help scientists track reef health here in real time.
What to photograph: fish and marine life, coral (especially anything pale or unusual), anything unexpected.
How to capture it: shoot JPEG, keep location on, note your depth and the date.
Dived Outer Reef Wall recently?
Your photos help track reef health.
Up to 10 photos · JPEG or PNG · max 20 MB each
📷
Drag photos here, or tap to select
GPS in your photo will auto-detect the dive site
Gear