Golfe de Valinco · France · Pinnacle
La Grande Vallée
A rock head at 13 m dropping abruptly to sand at 45 m
Area photo: Valinco Drone · CC BY-SA 4.0
La Grande Vallée is the bigger of the gulf's two boulder masses, a rock head 13 m below the surface that drops away more abruptly than its neighbour to sand at 45 m. Barracuda and large grouper are the fish divers come for, with moray in the rock and hunting schools of dentex passing through. The rock is covered in encrusting anemones and gorgonians.
Also known as Patate Rocheuse (Grande Vallée).
Where it is and how deep
41.6975° N, 8.7827° EPublished position for this site.
The dive
You drop onto the rock head 13 m under the surface and go down its side. The mass falls away more abruptly here than at La Petite Vallée, so the sand at 45 m arrives quickly and the working part of the dive is the wall of rock between the two. It is a ten-minute run out from the port of Porto-Pollo.
Barracuda hold over the mass and the big grouper sit against it, with moray in ambush in the cracks and mostelle on the rock. With luck a school of dentex comes through on the hunt. Encrusting anemones, yellow anemones and gorgonians cover the rock, and the ascent is made back up the head to finish at 13 m.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Barracuda
| 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
- La grande Vallée — Scubago (SSI)
- Spot plongée Corse - Propriano (archived) — Propriano Plongée via Wayback Machine
More dive sites in Golfe de Valinco
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Rock spires off a 45 m plateau, the tallest topping out at 9 m
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Rock towers rising from 50 m to 6 m below the surface
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Protected training water at the dive centre's own beach
Similar dives elsewhere
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The archipelago's busiest dive: a rock from 4 m to 45 m
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