Aqaba · Jordan · Wall · Reef
Power Station
A sheer wall falling from 12 m into 200 m of water
Area photo: Arian Zwegers · CC BY 2.0
A wall dive on Jordan's short Red Sea coast, where a shallow reef slopes to 12 m and then drops vertically into 200 m of water. It is dived by boat and worked along the lip of the drop-off, which puts it above the depth and buoyancy demands of Aqaba's easy shore sites.
Where it is and how deep
29.4824° N, 34.9821° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The boat drops you over the reef top, which runs from the surface down to about 5 m before sloping away. Between 5 m and 15 m the slope carries an abundance of varied hard corals, and it is worth a few minutes there before you commit to the edge. Follow the slope out and down to roughly 12 m and the ground simply ends: from that lip the wall falls vertically to 200 m.
Along the drop-off the dive is a straight swim with the wall on one shoulder and open blue on the other, watching both. Soft corals abound on the wall face, fed by the nutrient-rich water that flows gently along it, while the blue side is hunting ground for large pelagic species. The standing advice on a site like this applies: pick a depth, hold it, and check it often rather than drifting deeper as you look out. The published maximum is 40 m, which is why this is an advanced dive rather than the easy shore diving Aqaba is otherwise known for.
Come back shallow along the top of the wall and finish on the reef slope between 12 m and 5 m, where the hard-coral cover gives you something to look at through a safety stop. Turtles are among the animals listed for the site. The dive is boat-access only, which is unusual for Aqaba, so plan the turn on gas with the pick-up in mind rather than with a beach exit in reserve.
Marine life and season
- Sea turtles
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair |
Season follows Aqaba: Conditions stay calm and diveable year-round; water is coolest January–March.
Know before you go
- The wall drops to 200 m with no bottom beneath you: fix a maximum depth before you get in, and watch your gauge rather than the blue.
- Depth creep is the real risk on a vertical wall. Buoyancy control good enough to hold a chosen depth is the entry requirement here, not a nicety.
Questions divers ask
How deep is the Power Station dive site?+
The reef runs from the surface to about 5 m, slopes to 12 m and then drops vertically into 200 m of water. The published maximum depth for the dive is 40 m, so recreational profiles are worked along the top of the wall.
What certification do you need for Power Station?+
Advanced Open Water is the recommended training, along with good buoyancy control. A vertical wall with no bottom under it is unforgiving of depth creep, which makes this a step up from Aqaba's shallow shore sites.
Sources
More dive sites in Aqaba
A plastic skeleton in the pilot's seat of a sunken Hercules
An air pocket in the rear cargo hold big enough to surface in
Reef
Black coral below 20 m on a slope you walk into from the beach
A gorgonian forest at 21 m and fusiliers packing the shallows
Reef
An easily navigated reef that comes alive after dark
A scuttled army tank on sand in 7 m of water
Tanks, troop carriers and a sunken TriStar airliner
Similar dives elsewhere
Wall diving where the drop runs to 500 m in places
Jetty-entry wall to 40 m dived for tuna, dolphins and passing whale sharks
Two plateaus on the Red Sea's only atoll, hammerheads at 45 m
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A small canyon at the foot of the drop-off, 40 m down