Fuerteventura · Spain · Reef
Fortaleza
Wreckage and coal at 12 m under a reef that crests at 1.5 m
Area photo: H. Zell · CC BY-SA 3.0
Fortaleza is a reef that comes up to within 1.5 metres of the surface, close enough that ships have run aground on it repeatedly. The dive works down the jagged volcanic rock to about 12 metres, where wreckage and pieces of coal from one of the last freighters lost here still lie on the bottom.
Where it is and how deep
28.3891° N, 13.8522° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The reef rises to within 1.5 metres of the surface, and that single fact shapes both the dive and the site's history. You work around and down the crest into deeper water on jagged rock, with the whole dive held inside a 12 metre maximum. That leaves the kind of bottom time that lets a group look into holes rather than swim past them.
Around 12 metres the ground holds wreckage and pieces of coal from one of the last freighters to run aground here. Nothing is identified, so it is a debris field to search rather than a wreck to swim through. Octopus, cuttlefish and a great many nudibranchs are in the jagged rock around it, and the wall carries shoals of parrotfish.
Background
The reef rises to within 1.5 metres of the surface, and that is why the site has a history: ships have run aground on it again and again. Around 12 metres divers still find wreckage and pieces of coal from one of the last freighters to go down here. The source does not name the vessel, so the debris reads as scattered evidence of the reef's record rather than as a wreck dive with a story attached.
Marine life and season
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Nudibranchs
- Reef fish swarms
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good |
Season follows Fuerteventura: Divable in every month; water runs 18–23°C, coolest in late winter and warmest from August into October, and the desert climate keeps conditions mild.
Know before you go
- The reef crests within 1.5 m of the surface and has grounded ships repeatedly, so the shallow top of the rock has to be allowed for on the ascent and at the surface.
Questions divers ask
What is the wreckage at Fortaleza?+
Pieces of wreckage and coal from one of the last freighters to run aground on the reef, lying around 12 metres. The source does not name the ship, so it is a debris field rather than an identified wreck.
How deep is Fortaleza?+
The reef crests within 1.5 metres of the surface and the dive runs down to about 12 metres, where the wreckage and coal lie.
Sources
- Fortaleza dive site — Scubago
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A volcanic plateau at 24 m dropping to sand at 35 m
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