Ushuaia & the Beagle Channel · Argentina · Wall · Kelp forest
Redonda Island
Kelp-wrapped walls where sea lions often join the dive
Photo: Liam Quinn from Canada · CC BY-SA 2.0
Redonda Island lies off the shore of Tierra del Fuego National Park in the Beagle Channel. Its walls drop through a dense kelp forest that holds the channel's typical cold-water life, and divers come for that mix of rock face and algae with sea lions often calling in.
Also known as Isla Redonda, Redonda Islands.
Where it is and how deep
54.8633° S, 68.4818° WApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The day starts on the beach at Bahía Ensenada, where divers get used to their dry suits and buoyancy before a motorboat takes them across to Redonda Island. There the walls fall to 27 m inside a thick forest of algae, and sea lions often turn up among the fronds while the dive works along the rock.
Marine life and season
- Seals & sea lions
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Prime | Good | Good | Good | Fair |
Season follows Ushuaia & the Beagle Channel: Diving runs all year; the clearest water comes in winter, when it is also coldest, while summer plankton cuts visibility.
Dive videos
BUCEO EN USHUAIA - ISLA REDONDA · Beagle secretos del mar on YouTube
Sources
- The Unfathomable Southern Seas — InterPatagonia
- Isla Redonda — OpenStreetMap
Photo credits
- A low, dark wooded island in grey-blue water, seen from a sandy shore, with snowy mountain peaks and broken cloud beyond by Liam Quinn from Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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