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A still pool of sea water held between flat sandstone ledges and a gravel bar, with a long forested island on the horizon — Snake Island Pinnacle, Nanaimo & Gabriola Island.

Nanaimo & Gabriola Island · Canada · Pinnacle · Wall

Snake Island Pinnacle

A plumose-covered pinnacle rising from deep water beside the navy wrecks

Photo: Gerry Thomasen from Nanaimo, Canada · CC BY 2.0

Snake Island Pinnacle is an exposed offshore structure that rises sharply from deep water, minutes from the HMCS Cape Breton. It is one of Nanaimo's most impressive deep reef dives, mixing wall terrain, plumose anemone gardens and large predatory fish such as lingcod and wolf eels.

Also known as Snake Pinnacle.

Where it is and how deep

Depth profile of Snake Island Pinnacle: typical dive 9–34 m (30–112 ft) 18 m · Open Water30 m · Advanced40 m · Recreational limit9 m34 mtypical dive
Depths on a shared scale to 40 m (130 ft); dashed lines mark common certification limits.

49.2158° N, 123.8906° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.

The dive

The top of the pinnacle sits around 9–12 m (30–40 ft) depending on the tide, and its walls fall to a base at 30–34 m (100–110 ft). From the crown the wall edge lies to the north, and most divers turn right along it as it drops away. Plumose anemones cover both the wall and the top, where there is more current. Wolf eels tuck into breaks in the rock, large lingcod patrol, and the occasional yelloweye and vermilion rockfish turn up in the deeper overhang pockets.

Marine life and season

The sources we used don't single out particular species here.

Month-by-month season rating for Snake Island Pinnacle
JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
PrimePrimePrimeFairFairFairFairFairPrimePrimePrimePrime

Season follows Nanaimo & Gabriola Island: Clearest water runs September to March; spring and summer blooms cloud the surface layer.

Know before you go

  • Currents can be strong, especially across the top of the pinnacle.
  • Fishing gear and lead downrigger balls litter the site, a known hang-up point for anglers.

Dive videos

Snake Island Pinnacle - A New Dive Site On #VancouverIsland · ScubaBC on YouTube

Sources

  1. Snake Island Pinnacle dive charter — Nanaimo Dive Outfitters
  2. OpenStreetMap: Snake Island — OpenStreetMap

Photo credits

More dive sites in Nanaimo & Gabriola Island

Reef

Clark Rock

Often 6–10 wolf eels on a single dive

12–21 mintermediate

Wall

Gabriola Bluffs

A sheer anemone-covered face that drops away straight off the boat

18–36 madvanced

Wreck

HMCS Cape Breton

Six decks of navy ship, the largest artificial reef in the Pacific Northwest

30–40 m · max 44 madvanced

Wreck

HMCS Saskatchewan

An upright navy destroyer escort reached from its mid-ship buoy

24–40 madvanced

Wreck

Rivtow Lion

A WWII tug in sheltered Departure Bay that newer divers can manage

to 24 mbeginner

Similar dives elsewhere

Pinnacle

Askold Island

Vladivostok & Peter the Great Bay · Russia

Sheer rock stacks, crevices and caves on a far island of the bay

to 30 m · max 45 mintermediate

Pinnacle

Knoll Pins

Lundy Island · United Kingdom

Rock pinnacles walled in jewel anemones, dived on slack water

15–25 m · max 30 mintermediate

Pinnacle

Lime Burner Rock

Donegal Coast · Ireland

A pinnacle cut by large gullies, from 4 m below the surface down to 40 m

4–40 madvanced

Pinnacle

Macleod Maidens

Isle of Skye · United Kingdom

Pinnacles that widen underwater into a stepped wall of gullies and small caves

to 22 mintermediate