Palavas-les-Flots, Carnon & Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone · France · Reef
Le Tombant du Large
Caves and faults on a 6-9 m plateau
Area photo: Julien Renoult · CC BY 4.0
A shallow plateau at 6 m whose edges drop to 9 m, cut with caves and faults and fringed by scattered rocks on the adjacent sand. Nothing here is deep, which leaves the dive to the detail: blennies, wrasse and comber over the rock, doris nudibranchs and flatworms on it, and a full cover of algae and sea squirts across the whole site.
Where it is and how deep
43.4999° N, 3.8951° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The site is a plateau at about 6 m whose edges fall to 9 m — small drop-offs rather than a wall. The rock is cut with numerous caves and faults, and beyond the plateau the neighbouring sand is scattered with rocks, so there is more ground to cover than the depth suggests. With the deepest point at 9 m, gas rather than no-stop time sets the length of the dive.
Work the faults and cave mouths first, then cross to the outlying rocks on the sand. The whole site is colonised: algae such as acetabularia and padina, clavelina sea squirts and other fixed growth over the rock. Among it are blennies, wrasse and comber, and for anyone diving slowly, doris nudibranchs and flatworms.
Marine life and season
- Nudibranchs
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Palavas-les-Flots, Carnon & Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone: Clubs dive year-round, but logged visibility sits near 2 m and the sea at 10-12 °C from January to March; one club runs seven days a week in July and August.
Sources
- Le Tombant du Large, dive site — Scubago/SSI
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