Palavas-les-Flots, Carnon & Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone · France · Reef · Pinnacle
Les Amériques
Big overhangs and a dolmen block on an offshore bank
Area photo: Julien Renoult · CC BY 4.0
An isolated rocky bank off the abbey of Maguelone, rising from 18 m to 13 m and built of big stone slabs that stack up to a block sitting like a dolmen on the summit. For this stretch of coast the relief is unusual — real height, broken ground, large overhangs and deep cavities — and the holes hold lobster, conger eels and forkbeard.
Where it is and how deep
43.4472° N, 3.9205° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The bank stands alone off the abbey of Maguelone, its foot at 18 m and its top at 13 m. It is built of large stone slabs climbing towards a block that sits like a dolmen on the summit, and it has more vertical relief than most of this coast: broken ground, big overhangs and deep cavities. The site is not wide, so the number of groups on it at once is limited.
The usual approach is to climb the slope to the large central overhang and then work the surroundings, checking the holes as you go — lobster, conger eels and forkbeard sit in them. From the south of the bank a line of smaller isolated rocks runs off on a bearing of 210-220°, and a group with gas in hand can try to reach them before turning back onto the main bank.
Old fishing tackle lies on top of the site, so be careful where you put your fingers: torpedo rays are in among it. Visibility here is often moderate, and there is enough structure that a slow circuit of the bank fills a dive without any need to wander off onto the surrounding bottom.
Marine life and season
- 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.
Know before you go
- Fishing tackle lies across the top of the bank and torpedo rays sit among it, so look before putting a hand into a hole or onto a ledge.
Sources
- L'Arche ou Les Amériques — Octopus Plongée
- Les Amériques, dive site — Scubago/SSI
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