San Juan Islands · United States · Wall
Davidson Rock
A sheer west face thick with giant plumose anemones
Photo: Kiwibirdman · CC BY 3.0
An offshore reef near Lopez Island, marked by a piling, whose west face drops sheer from about 15 m (50 ft) to more than 61 m (200 ft). It is an advanced wall dive done only at slack, because off slack the currents waterfall and upwell on the wall. The wall and reef top are thick with giant plumose anemones.
Where it is and how deep
48.4132° N, 122.8120° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
Davidson Rock lies about 13 km (8 miles) by boat from Cornet Bay, and the dive needs a live boat rather than an anchored one. A piling marks the reef. Divers drop in at slack and make for the west face, which falls sheer from about 15 m (50 ft) to more than 61 m (200 ft). A maximum depth is set before the descent, because the face goes well past recreational limits.
The wall and the reef top are thick with giant plumose anemones, and proliferating anemones grow in the kelp channels. Leave the face before slack ends: once the tide turns, currents waterfall and upwell on the wall. Divers carry an SMB, because a safety stop in the kelp can happen in strong flow, and the live boat collects divers where they surface.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good | Good |
Season follows San Juan Islands: Dived year-round; current-sensitive sites are timed to slack water on the tide table.
Know before you go
- Heavy current: off slack it waterfalls and upwells on the wall, so dive only at slack and leave the face as it ends.
- The wall face drops well beyond recreational limits; set a maximum depth before descending and hold it.
- A safety stop in the kelp can happen in strong flow; carry an SMB so the live boat can spot divers.
Photos from Davidson Rock
Bureau of Land Management Oregon and Washington from Portland, America · Public domain
Questions divers ask
How deep is Davidson Rock?+
The west face drops sheer from about 15 m (50 ft) to more than 61 m (200 ft), well past recreational limits, so divers set their own maximum depth on the wall.
Sources
- Davidson Rock dive site — PNW Diving
Photo credits
- A rocky islet and a smaller low rock in grey, moving water seen from a lichen-covered shore point by Kiwibirdman, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Aerial view of a pale crescent beach in a small forested cove with clear green-blue water by Bureau of Land Management Oregon and Washington from Portland, America, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
More dive sites in San Juan Islands
Pinnacle
A rounded pinnacle whose lee side can often be dived when current runs
King crabs and tiger rockfish in the chasms of a Sucia Island wall
Bull kelp over a cliff that rolls down to nearly 37 m (120 ft)
Similar dives elsewhere
A near-vertical quarry wall falling to 35 m, then sloping on to 55 m
Drowned trees on the slope, best seen flying over the canopy at 25 m
Wall
Africville
Halifax & St Margaret's Bay · Canada
An Atlantic wolffish living under a concrete slab at 18 m (60 ft)
.jpg){kind=link}
Sheer walls and crevasses to 24 m from a shore entry