Golfe de Valinco · France · Wall · Reef
Colorado
A north-south drop-off from a 5 m rock head into 45 m
Area photo: Valinco Drone · CC BY-SA 4.0
Colorado is a rock head 5 m below the surface with a plateau at 10 to 12 m on the inshore side and, on the offshore side, a drop-off running north to south into 40 to 45 m of water. Propriano Plongée describes it as generally light on fauna and dived for the scenery, though grouper, dentex, octopus and numbers of nudibranchs are all named on it.
Also known as Le Colorado.
Where it is and how deep
41.7058° N, 8.7837° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
The rock head is 5 m under the surface, so the descent is short and you are on the site immediately. Inshore of it the ground is a plateau at 10 to 12 m; offshore, the rock breaks into a drop-off that runs north to south and falls into 40 to 45 m. Propriano Plongée gives the wall as 6 m down to 40 m from their end of the gulf.
This is a site dived for its shape rather than its fish: the Propriano description calls it generally light on fauna and puts the atmosphere of the wall first. What is there is worth looking for — grouper and dentex along the rock, octopus in the holes, and a multitude of nudibranchs on the faces. Coming back over the plateau leaves plenty of shallow ground for the end of the dive.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Nudibranchs
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Off-season |
Season follows Golfe de Valinco: Both centres run April to November and close for the winter; the water is 18 °C at the edges of that season and 23 °C at its height.
Sources
- colorado — Scubago (SSI)
- Spot plongée Corse - Propriano (archived) — Propriano Plongée via Wayback Machine
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