Azores · Portugal · Reef · Cave & cavern
Baixa do Espelho
A volcanic arch to swim through on a reef topping out at 7 m
A reef whose top rises to 7 metres above a 35-metre bottom, with a large volcanic hole and an arch cut through it that divers swim through. The ground is a mixture of rock and sand, and the fish list is a long one: groupers, hogfish, parrotfish, seabream, jack mackerel, moray eels and nudibranchs.
Where it is and how deep
37.7485° N, 25.7244° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The top of the reef starts at 7 metres and the ground runs to a maximum of 35, so the site is dived at whatever depth the plan allows: down the rock first and back up onto the top for the end of the dive, or kept shallow throughout. The bottom alternates rock and sand, and that mixture is what spreads the life across the site instead of concentrating it on one face.
The feature is a large volcanic hole with an arch that divers can swim through, and it is the feature the dive is built around. Around it groupers and hogfish hold on the rock, parrotfish and salema work the shallower stone, jack mackerel pass over the top, moray eels sit back in the holes, and nudibranchs turn up on the rock for anyone diving slowly enough to look for them.
Marine life and season
- Groupers
- Trevally & jacks
- Reef fish swarms
- Nudibranchs
| 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 Azores: June to September is the settled season and August into October the clearest water; diving carries on through winter in a 7-10mm or dry suit when swell allows.
Dive videos
Diving in the Azores - Sao Miguel - Baixa do Espelho · Jacco van Hooren on YouTube
Sources
- Baixa do Espelho — Scubago
More dive sites in Azores
Reef
Four rock arches at 16 metres in a sheltered bay
Wreck
A 130-metre Liberty ship broken open in shallow water
A shore-divable reef of arches and sand from 4 to 20 m
A sheltered sand bottom five minutes from the marina
Passages in the wall of a protected volcanic islet
Pinnacle
A pinnacle topping out at 26 metres with walls to 45
A north-coast volcanic wall running to 35 metres
Reef
Two parallel walls sheltering a reef from 5 to 18 m
Similar dives elsewhere
A false ceiling right around a 10 m shoal off Corralejo
Three cannons and ammunition on the seabed at about 20 m
A diveable breakthrough in an 18 m rock wall at 32 m
Volcanic caves and coral blocks inside 18 metres