St. Eustatius · Caribbean Netherlands · Wall
Grand Canyon
Steep lava flows and narrow cracks dropping past 40 m
Area photo: SV Zanshin · CC BY-SA 3.0
A deep wall on the submerged slopes of the volcano at the south end of the island, dived past 40 m. Steep lava flows drop away into narrow cracks, deep-sea fans cover the rock at depth, and pelagic fish work the blue water off the face. It sits inside the marine reserve and is run as an advanced dive.
Where it is and how deep
17.4590° N, 62.9752° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
This is the submerged flank of the volcano rather than a reef. Lava flows run down the slope steeply and break into narrow cracks, and the profile keeps going past 40 m, so the dive is planned around depth from the moment you leave the surface. Scubaqua lists it as an advanced site and PADI records it as lying inside a marine reserve.
The deep part is short by definition. Down on the face the rock carries deep-sea fan coverage, and the cracks between the flows are the structure worth following along rather than into. Pelagic fish pass off the wall in open water, so the outside is worth as much attention as the rock, and the dive finishes by working back up the slope with plenty of gas in reserve.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Prime |
Season follows St. Eustatius: Nov–Jun is calmest with the clearest water; Aug–Oct hurricane season regularly closes the exposed western sites.
Questions divers ask
How deep is Grand Canyon on Statia?+
Scubaqua lists the site at 40 m and beyond on the submerged volcano slope, which is why it is run as an advanced dive rather than a general reef stop.
Sources
- St. Eustatius Dive Sites — Scubaqua
- Grand Canyon - Dive Site — PADI
More dive sites in St. Eustatius
Reef
A coral-covered French anchor of the 1750s, hooked into the reef
Reef
Barracuda over a volcanic mini-wall, in groups of five to twenty
Reef
A small coral island with a vertical wall, to 19 m
Muck & macro
Seventeenth-century Dutch beads in the sand at 17 m
Wreck
A 100 m cable layer with a 40 m cable corridor through her hull
Wreck
A 52 m Taiwanese trawler, top at 15 m and seabed at 27 m
Reef
Ballast fused into the shape of a ship, and two anchors at 18 m
Wall
An almost vertical drop at the island's southern tip
Similar dives elsewhere
Near-vertical face of tube sponges, sea fans and black coral
Steep cracked wall over sand that starts at 25 m and keeps going
A deep drop-off from 29 m with a large arch through the wall
A face that starts at 15 m and drops straight into the blue