Loreto Bay National Park · Mexico · Wall
The Abyss
Sheer drop-offs with yellow polyp black coral and schooling jacks
The Abyss, El Abismo in Spanish, is a wall off Isla del Carmen with sheer drop-offs, dived from 6 m (20 ft) to 40 m (130 ft). Soft corals grow thickly on it, including yellow polyp black coral. Big schools of jacks cruise along the wall, with occasional mobula rays and rainbow runners out in the blue.
Also known as El Abismo.
Where it is and how deep
25.8175° N, 111.2588° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The dive starts at the top of the wall, at around 6 m (20 ft), before the rock falls away in sheer drop-offs. Divers descend along the face, where soft corals thrive, including yellow polyp black coral. The wall is the whole dive, so the plan is simply to choose a depth and swim along it with the rock on one shoulder.
The drop-offs continue down to 40 m (130 ft), the deepest point of the dive. Big schools of jacks cruise along the wall, and occasional mobula rays and rainbow runners pass in the open water beside it. Divers work their way gradually back up the face and finish in the shallows at the top of the wall, where reef fish are found in abundance.
Marine life and season
- Trevally & jacks
- Mobula rays
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Loreto Bay National Park: Mobula schools peak May to August, and summer brings the warmest, clearest water; winter north winds can keep boats in harbour.
Know before you go
- The wall drops in sheer drop-offs to 40 m (130 ft); divers set a maximum depth before the dive and watch their gauge on the face.
Questions divers ask
How deep is The Abyss dive site in Loreto?+
The Abyss, or El Abismo, runs from 6 m (20 ft) at the top of the wall to 40 m (130 ft) along its sheer drop-offs.
Sources
- Loreto Bay National Park — Blue Nation Baja
- Loreto Bay National Park (Blue Nation Baja, archived, with island map pins) — Blue Nation Baja
More dive sites in Loreto Bay National Park
Seamount
A remote seamount flooded with creole fish near Isla Montserrat
A WWII minesweeper sunk for divers, with easy penetrations
Seamount
Hundreds of king angelfish among huge boulders on a deep seamount
Reef
An offshore reef with schools of surgeonfish and guitar rays
Sea lions from the local colony and black coral caverns at 30 m
Pinnacle
Three pinnacles with horn sharks among black coral bushes at the base
Similar dives elsewhere
A sheer drop to 43 m with frogfish and nudibranchs on the face
The largest sandfall in the marine park, beside a vertical wall
Boulder wall to 27 m with summer mobula ray squadrons
Three-sided cove with walls dropping straight from the surface to the floor