White Sea · Russia · Reef
Tokarev Ridge
Rare Gorgon's head brittle stars among Arctic soft corals
Tokarev Ridge is an underwater ridge close to the Nilmoguba dive centre, its crest well below the surface and its flanks falling into deep water. Arctic soft corals and plumose anemone colonies cover the rock, and it is one of the places in Chupa Bay to see the rare Gorgon's head brittle star.
Where it is and how deep
No published position for this site — the map shows White Sea and its other sites; operators know the mooring.
The dive
The crest of the ridge sits at 9 m at low tide and its sides fall away to 40 m. Arctic soft corals and colonies of Metridium senile anemones grow over the rock, and the rare brittle star Gorgonocephalus, known as the Head of Gorgon, clings among them.
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 | Prime | Prime | Prime | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Fair | Fair | Good |
Season follows White Sea: Ice diving runs February to April while the sea ice holds; summer diving is by speedboat, with the water warmest in July.
Know before you go
- Current over the ridge ranges from weak to strong.
Sources
- Dive sites — The Arctic Circle Dive Centre
More dive sites in White Sea
Pinnacle
A lone rock carpeted in plumose anemones
Ice hummocks under a cliff shaped like a mammoth
A kelp-topped wall falling into deep water
Deep anemone and soft-coral colonies far out from Nilmoguba
Sea angels drifting over a kelp forest
Kelp forest
Fucus shallows above a slope into deep water
Wreck
A Yaroslavets diving boat from a biological station
Channel & pass
Sponge and hydroid gardens fed by a strong tidal flow
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