Cabo de Gata-Níjar · Spain · Seamount · Pinnacle
Cráter de San Andrés
Dropping through a volcano-shaped crater to an arch full of eels
Area photo: Konrad Hädener from Thun, Switzerland · CC BY 2.0
The Cráter de San Andrés is a submarine mountain set off the profile of Isla de San Andrés, its summit at 5 m holding a large cavity shaped like a volcano's crater. Divers descend inside the crater to 14-19 m and leave through a wide arch cut with crevices where moray eels, congers and groupers live.
Also known as El Cráter.
Where it is and how deep
36.9916° N, 1.8862° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
West of the island a great rock formation rises like a mountain-volcano, its summit reaching 5 m below the surface. That summit holds the feature that names the dive: a large cavity resembling the crater of a volcano. The boat crosses from Carboneras and drops divers on the mount, and the dive is organised around passing through the crater itself.
You descend inside the crater to 14-19 m, then take its lower exit through a wide arch scored with crevices — and the crevices are the show, holding moray eels, congers and groupers among other residents. The 20 m maximum keeps the whole circuit within a straightforward no-decompression profile before the ascent back over the summit.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Cabo de Gata-Níjar: Visitor season peaks spring through summer; surface water swings from 10-15 °C in winter to 21-30 °C in summer, with 22 °C still logged in October.
Sources
- 1 Crater de San Andres dive site — Scubago
- Buceo Carboneras — inmersiones (site list) — Buceo Carboneras
More dive sites in Cabo de Gata-Níjar
Reef
Try-dive shallows at 3-5 m, groupers on the way to 16 m
Cave & cavern
Gliding through light-filled rock canyons inside 12 m
Eagle rays and hunting barracuda on the island's outer wall
Reef
Small octopus on the anchorage rock at 5 m
Wreck
A WWII bomber engine standing alone in the sand at 27 m
Cave & cavern
A natural rock tunnel to swim through at 15-20 m
Cave & cavern
Volcanic cave diving without an advanced card
Wall
Sardine schools hunted by small tuna at the end of summer
Similar dives elsewhere
A shoal topping out at 10 m with a 30 m drop and hard backlight
A seamount from 50 m to centimetres under the surface
A rock needle to 3 m, with a conger cave at 22 m on its east side
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A submerged mountain from 55 m to 3 m, four hulls on its flanks