Cap d'Agde · France · Reef
La Muraillette
Two 2 m blocks where a dive can count fifty spiny lobsters
Area photo: Christian Ferrer · CC BY-SA 3.0
La Muraillette is a horseshoe of coralligenous rock on the sand off Cap d'Agde, 24 m at its deepest and dived at 20–24 m. Each end of the horseshoe finishes in a big coralligenous block about 2 m high, and those two blocks are the reason to come: the site catalogue counts at least fifty spiny lobsters on them in a dive. Congers, scorpionfish and octopus fill in the rest.
Where it is and how deep
43.2578° N, 3.5167° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The site is a horseshoe of coralligenous rock lying on sand, and the dive follows its shape: down onto one arm at around 20 m, along the curve to 24 m at the deepest point, and out to the far end. Both ends of the horseshoe finish in a big coralligenous block standing about 2 m proud of the bottom, and those two blocks are what the dive is built around.
They are, in Scubago's own words, invaded by lobsters — at least fifty counted on a single dive — so the ends are where a group slows down and starts looking into holes. Congers share the same cracks, scorpionfish sit flat against the rock, octopus work the base of the blocks, and nudibranchs and urchins are on the faces. Twenty-four metres is the limit here; there is nothing deeper to drop to.
Marine life and season
- Macro critters
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Nudibranchs
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Cap d'Agde: Abyss Plongée opens March to December; the sea averages 12 °C in February and 22 °C in August, and the Tramontane or Mistral can stop the boats in any month.
Sources
- La Muraillette — Scubago (SSI MyDiveGuide)
- Sites de plongée — Abyss Plongée
More dive sites in Cap d'Agde
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A 25 m cod boat lost in a storm in 1913, on 12 m of sand
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White gorgonian at 35–40 m, dived on technical setups
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A sheltered 7 m dive beside the Deux Frères rocks
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Coralligenous rocks at 18–19 m west of the Brescou rock
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Faults and overhangs in two coralligenous blocks at 21 m
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Nine coralligenous reefs at 20–24 m, linked by guide wires
A run of coralligenous rock on a 21 m bottom
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Black volcanic rock in 3–11 m, with octopus through the holes
Similar dives elsewhere
A reef grown over 2,000-year-old amphorae at 13-18 m
A small sponge-lined cavern at 22 m off the lighthouse islet
A rock off the town's port, 5 m down to 24 m
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