White Sea · Russia · Pinnacle · Ice · Kelp forest
White Whale Rock
A ledge rising from a flat bottom almost to the ice
White Whale Rock, also called Belushya Rock, is a rocky ledge near Kast'jan Island that rises from a flat sea floor almost to the surface. A colony of plumose anemones and wolffish live on it among kelp-forest life, and in winter it is one of the ice dives reached by snowmobile across the frozen sea.
Also known as Belushya Rock.
Where it is and how deep
66.4951° N, 33.3888° EApproximate position — the dashed circle shows where the site lies; your operator's briefing has the mooring.
The dive
The rocky ledge rises from a flat bottom almost to the surface, and the site runs from 1 m at low tide down to 13 m. A colony of Metridium senile anemones covers the rock, wolffish (Anarhichadidae) shelter in it, and a rich kelp-forest fauna surrounds it.
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 is mostly light but can be considerable at the surface.
- Under the ice the safety line limits how far divers swim from the hole to about 25 m.
Sources
- Dive sites — The Arctic Circle Dive Centre
- Ice Diving in the White Sea — X-Ray Mag
- OpenStreetMap — OpenStreetMap contributors
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
Reef
Rare Gorgon's head brittle stars among Arctic soft corals
Similar dives elsewhere
Pinnacle
Arnarnesstrýtur
Strýtan · Iceland
Venting chimneys with a wolffish in almost every crevice
Sheer rock stacks, crevices and caves on a far island of the bay
The most south-westerly rock in the United Kingdom
A rounded pinnacle whose lee side can often be dived when current runs