Tarragona · Spain · Artificial reef
Las Vigas
Concrete corridors at 14 m, minutes from the Port of Tarragona
Area photo: User:Vmenkov · CC BY-SA 3.0
Three large concrete structures on the seabed very close to the Port of Tarragona — remains of public works, dived to 14 m at Open Water level. The submerged structures form corridors and shaded areas that gather schools of seabream, with octopus, moray eels and small crustaceans in the sheltered corners.
Where it is and how deep
41.1122° N, 1.2711° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
You descend to a maximum of 14 m onto three large concrete structures lying very close to the Port of Tarragona. The structures form corridors and shaded areas, and the dive is a matter of threading through and around them — the shallow depth gives long bottom times, and the shapes of the beams make it easy to keep track of where you are on the site.
The beams carry the life. Schools of fish move along the corridors — seabream, gilt-head bream and saddled seabream among them — while the sheltered, shaded areas hold octopus, moray eels and small crustaceans. Working the shadowed sides of the structures slowly is the way to dive it before you leave the concrete and make a straightforward ascent.
Background
By the account of Mar de Hielo, the Tarragona club that dives the site, the structures are the remains of public works dating from the 1960s — three large concrete pieces left on the seabed close to the port. No independent heritage record of their origin has been published, so the date rests on the operator's own description; what is certain underwater is the structures themselves and the corridors and shade they create.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
- Octopus & cuttlefish
- Macro critters
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Fair | Fair |
Season follows Tarragona: Sea temperature falls below 14 °C from December to March and passes 24 °C from June to September, the practical shoulder of the local season.
Sources
- Scubago — Las Vigas — Scubago
- Mar de Hielo — Tarragona dive booking site — Club de Buceo Mar de Hielo
More dive sites in Tarragona
Small caves and walls at 9 m off the Salou headland
Wreck
Tarragona's signature wreck dive, an 18 m ship a few minutes from the quay
Wreck
A Luftwaffe He 111 bomber at 30 m, with a resident conger named Sam
Wall
A 10-to-26 m vertical wall at the tip of the port breakwater
Wreck
A burned wooden steamer on sand at 16–17 m, dived at Open Water level
Reef
A cathedral-shaped rock at 22–24 m where the groupers are always around
Pinnacle
A lone rock pinnacle on sand, circled by seabream and salema
Similar dives elsewhere
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Six two-metre cement heads standing at 3 to 5 m
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A saint on the seabed since 1998, 14 m down off Capraia