Costa Brava · Spain · Seamount · Wall
Ullastre III
A summit at 8 m over a wall that bottoms out at 54 m
Area photo: Mikipons · CC BY-SA 3.0
The outermost and deepest of the three Ullastres, less than two miles in front of the port of Llafranc. The top of the third peak stands at 8 m and the ground beside it falls to 54 m, so one rock carries a shallow summit and a wall no recreational diver should follow down. Scorpionfish, salema and red gorgonians are what the summit is known for.
Where it is and how deep
41.8847° N, 3.2037° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The three mountains stand practically in front of the port of Llafranc, less than two miles out, and the third is the far one. Its highest point is at 8 m, shallow enough to see the whole summit in daylight, and the listing gives an average working depth of 15 m. That is the dive: the top of the peak and the shoulders just below it, with the deep ground left alone.
Below the summit the rock keeps going, to a bottom at 54 m, which is why the site is rated CMAS two-star or Advanced Open Water and why depth and current are the dangers listed for it. Current is given as low, under a knot, and visibility as good, between 10 and 30 m. Scorpionfish sit on the rock, salema pass over it, and red gorgonians grow on the faces. Grouper and red coral were common here once and have become rare through indiscriminate fishing.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Costa Brava: Surface water sits near 13 °C from January to March and peaks around 25 °C in August; local guidance is 5 mm in July and August, 7 mm April to June and September to October, drysuit the rest.
Know before you go
- Depth and current are the listed dangers; the summit is shallow but the wall beside it runs to 54 m, so keep to a fixed maximum.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Ullastre III?+
The top of the third peak is at 8 m and the listed average depth is 15 m. The ground beside it falls to 54 m, which is why the site is rated CMAS two-star or Advanced Open Water rather than left to Open Water divers.
Sources
- Ullastre III — Scubago
- Ullastre III — Wannadive — Wannadive.net
- Els Ullastres (cap de Sant Sebastià) — Viquipèdia
- Palamos town to Cap de Begur — area index — Wannadive.net
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Similar dives elsewhere
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