Grand Cayman · Cayman Islands · Wall
Orange Canyon
Drop through a canyon and out onto the wall face
Area photo: c&rdunn · CC BY-SA 2.0
Orange Canyon is a West Bay Wall dive named for the orange elephant ear sponges that cover its coral pinnacles. The route drops from the mooring through a canyon and out onto the face of the wall, a deep profile that sees occasional currents.
Where it is and how deep
No published position for this site — the map shows Grand Cayman and its other sites; operators know the mooring.
The dive
The dive starts at a mooring ball, from where divers descend into the blue through a canyon cut into the reef. The canyon leads out onto the wall itself, and divers emerge on the face at around 30 m (100 ft) before working along it.
Marine life and season
The sources we used don't single out particular species here.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime |
Season follows Grand Cayman: December to April is drier and calm enough for the exposed south side; August to October is hurricane season, and the rain peaks in October.
Know before you go
- Occasional currents along the wall at depth make the site better suited to intermediate and advanced divers.
Dive videos
Go Dive The Amazing Orange Canyon Reef In Grand Cayman On Your Cayman Islands Dive Trip · Go DiveXplore on YouTube
Sources
- Exploring Grand Cayman's Hidden Dive Sites — Red Sail Sports
- Best of the West (Wall that is...) — Scuba Diving
- Orange Canyon — ScubaGo
More dive sites in Grand Cayman
Reef
Massive sponges on the drop at 21 m (70 ft)
Wall
A pinnacle rising off the North Wall into the Cayman Trench
Cave & cavern
Two long tunnels that empty out onto the open blue
Wall
A coral arch on the wall, named for a Cayman photographer
Ladder off the dock, then a long critter hunt to a coral-topped mini wall
Cave & cavern
Coral chimneys that fill with silversides in high summer
Sponge-crusted cable winches on a ship named for the island's chamber doctor
Wall
An elephant sculpture on a ledge at 26 m (85 ft)
Similar dives elsewhere
An undercut amphitheater in the wall, lipped with black coral
A sloping wall dived between 18 m and 34 m
Near-continuous schools of grunts and snappers on the wall top
Overhanging cliff hung with black coral trees and deep-water gorgonians