Belize Barrier Reef · Belize · Reef · Pinnacle
Amber Head
One big coral bommie ringed by schooling bar jacks
Area photo: Axelspace Corporation · CC BY-SA 4.0
Amber Head is a deep reef site on Turneffe Atoll built around a single large coral bommie. It is an advanced dive reaching 34 m, and divers come for the bommie itself and the schools of bar jacks and mahogany snappers that gather around it.
Also known as Amberhead.
Where it is and how deep
No published position for this site — the map shows Belize Barrier Reef and its other sites; operators know the mooring.
The dive
The centrepiece is a coral bommie standing on the bottom at 30 m (100 ft). It rises about 4 m (15 ft) and spans some 9 m (30 ft) across, and the dive reaches 34 m at its deepest. Schools of bar jacks and mahogany snappers gather around the bommie.
Marine life and season
- Trevally & jacks
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Prime | Prime | Prime | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Belize Barrier Reef: March to May is the dry season, when visibility at Turneffe can pass 30 m (100 ft); rain and northerly winds take the shine off the other months.
Dive videos
Scuba Belize, 2021, Amberhead South, Turneffe Atoll · Stanley Scuba, Sailing & Adventures on YouTube
Questions divers ask
What certification does Amber Head need?+
It is an advanced dive: the coral bommie sits at 30 m (100 ft) and the dive reaches 34 m, so deep training is needed.
Sources
- Turneffe Atoll Diving - Belize — Dive The World
- Amber Head, Belize — DiveSight
- Turneffe Atoll Dives – Full Day — Ambergris Divers
More dive sites in Belize Barrier Reef
Reef
Gullies cut across a submerged spur-and-groove reef
Caribbean reef sharks and bull sharks patrolling a vertical wall
Wall
Eagle rays off a sponge-hung wall on Turneffe's east coast
Pelagic & blue water
Whale sharks feeding on snapper spawn between March and June
Ice-age stalactites hanging from 30 m inside a 124-metre shaft
Garden eels on the sand, then a wall that falls past 914 m (3,000 ft)
A 9-metre reef cut, with nurse sharks and stingrays next door
Three big parrotfish species along the top of the wall
Similar dives elsewhere
Giant coral pinnacles cut with caves, tunnels and caverns
Reef, boulders, walls and pinnacles inside 12 m
Tarpon and jack schools over a drop-off at 25 m
Jacks and barracuda stacked in the current