Florida Keys · United States · Reef
Christ of the Abyss
A nine-foot bronze figure standing in 7.6 m of water
Photo: Sebastian Carlosena · CC BY-SA 3.0
A bronze figure nine feet tall stands on the seaward side of Key Largo Dry Rocks in about 7.6 m of water, lowered there in 1965 and dived and snorkelled ever since. The reef around it is shallow, roughly 4.6 to 7.6 m, with sand channels running between the coral formations and a buoy marking the position.
Also known as Christ of the Deep, Key Largo Dry Rocks.
Where it is and how deep
25.1234° N, 80.2971° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The statue sits on the seaward side of the Dry Rocks reef, about six miles north-east of Key Largo, and the site is marked by a buoy, so boats arrive on a fixed position and the descent is short. The bronze stands in roughly 7.6 m (25 ft) of water with its hands about 3.4 m (11 ft) below the surface, shallow enough for snorkellers to take in the whole figure from above.
Around the statue the reef is a set of coral formations separated by sand channels, spanning roughly 4.6 to 7.6 m (15 to 25 feet), which makes the dive a slow circuit rather than a route. Groupers, snappers and grunts stack under the coral, angelfish work the heads, moray eels sit back in the crevices and nurse sharks tuck beneath the overhangs, with large schools of reef fish moving over the whole site.
Background
The casting was presented to the Underwater Society of America in New York in 1962 and placed in approximately 25 feet (7.6 m) of water on 25 August 1965. It is a bronze figure nine feet tall, set on a concrete base. When park boundaries were redrawn in 1972 the statue passed out of John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park waters into the adjacent national marine sanctuary, and it now lies inside a Sanctuary Preservation Area, where fishing and collecting are not allowed.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Fair |
Season follows Florida Keys: Winter cold fronts (December-February) bring choppier seas and cooler water; April-August offers the calmest conditions, though hurricane season runs June-November.
Photos from Christ of the Abyss
Serge Melki from Indianapolis, USA · CC BY 2.0
Dive videos
The Christ Statue - Key Largo Dry Rocks · Dive Documentaries on YouTube
FREEDIVING Christ of the Abyss ( Key Largo ) HD · Pedro Prieto on YouTube
Questions divers ask
How deep is Christ of the Abyss?+
The statue stands in about 7.6 m (25 ft) of water and its hands reach to roughly 3.4 m (11 ft) below the surface. The surrounding reef spans about 4.6 to 7.6 m, so the whole site is within snorkelling and Open Water depths.
Is Christ of the Abyss good for beginner divers?+
Yes. The site is shallow, easily reached and suitable for beginner divers and snorkellers alike, and the marker buoy means there is no navigation to do beyond circling the statue and the coral heads around it.
Sources
- Christ of the Abyss — Wikipedia
- Key Largo Dry Rocks — Wikipedia
- Christ of the Abyss / Key Largo Dry Rocks — Sea Dwellers Dive Center
- Sanctuary Preservation Areas — NOAA Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
- Christ of the Abyss (OpenStreetMap node) — OpenStreetMap
Photo credits
- Bronze Christ statue on the reef with sunbeams and a snorkeller above by Sebastian Carlosena, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Silhouette of the raised-arm Christ statue against blue water by Serge Melki from Indianapolis, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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