Reefwander
Satellite view of the Great Blue Hole, a circular deep-blue sinkhole ringed by shallow turquoise reef within Lighthouse Reef, Belize — Belize Barrier Reef

Belize Barrier Reef · Belize · Wall

The Terrace

An overhanging wall stepping down to a wide sand terrace

Area photo: Axelspace Corporation · CC BY-SA 4.0

The Terrace is a deep wall dive on Turneffe Atoll, built as two steps: an overhanging wall that runs down to a wide sandy ledge, then a second wall below it. Divers come for the overhang and for the black coral bushes and wire corals that grow in the darker water along the face.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of The Terrace: typical dive to 30 m (to 100 ft), deepest point 45 m (148 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit30 m45 m maxtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 60 m (197 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

No published position for this site — the map shows Belize Barrier Reef and its other sites; operators know the mooring.

The dive

The dive follows an overhanging wall down to a wide sandy ledge at 30 m (100 ft). Below the ledge a second wall cascades on to 45 m (150 ft), and the sloping sand channel and rocky ridges beyond it lie past recreational limits.

The deeper sections of the face are dominated by wire corals and black coral bushes, which favour the darker water. Fairy and blackcap basslets and sunshinefish hold among the bushes, and green morays slide up and down the wall hunting.

Marine life and season

The sources we used don't single out particular species here.

Month-by-month season rating for The Terrace
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
FairFairPrimePrimePrimeFairFairFairFairFairFairFair

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.

Know before you go

  • A second wall drops from the ledge at 30 m (100 ft) to 45 m (150 ft), and the sand channel below it lies beyond recreational limits.

Sources

  1. Turneffe Atoll Diving - Belize — Dive The World
  2. Turneffe Atoll Dives – Full Day — Ambergris Divers

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