Page 319 - Mexico Diving From the Caribbean to Pacific Isles
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t has an area of 931 square kilometers (359 they waddle in an ungainly fashion over the sionally dense clouds of krill may be present
I square miles) and a chain of mountains runs rocky land. You will most likely drop in here bringing with them the promise of whales.
along its 69 km length, reaching a maximum in shallow waters and descend to between
of 1,300 meters (4,300 feet) above sea level. E8 meters and 10 meters before then making
It runs northwest to southeast. Much of the l Lavadero, Las Animas - Las Animas is
island is inaccessible due to mountains at or your way down a steep wall to deeper sec- named after the church bells which ring
near the shore, especially on the west coast.
There are a few flat areas on the coast at the tions of the site at 30 meters to 40 meters. to summon lost souls and ‘El Lavadero’ trans-
outlets of washes that were created by sedi-
ment. Despite its extreme dryness, the island Throughout the shallows sea lions are likely lates as “the washing machine”. Thousands
is relatively diverse in plant and animal life.
There are many types of birds and reptiles, to be present, darting this way and that with of schooling jacks is astounding as their
especially lizards. The Angel Island Speckled
Rattlesnake and Angel Island mouse (Pero- incredible ease. Particularly fearless and fun sheer mass of numbers surrounds you and
myscus guardia) occur only on the island.
The only mammals are bats, rodents, and are the juveniles, of which there are many blocks out the light. Hammerhead sharks
introduced feral cats. Plants include cacti,
grasses, shrubs, succulents and boojums. in August and September. The wall can play and tunas join them in the blue, meaning
E l Arroyo, Punta Martir - Hundreds of host to jewel morays and Panamic morays. there is always plenty of big stuff to look
boobies rest and ease their bowels atop
Pedro Martir. They stare quizzically at these They are among 16 species of moray eel in out for when diving here. The topography
strange humans jumping in the water as
the Sea of Cortez and they are often spotted, consists of a pinnacle featuring a series of
not only gaping from their holes but also shelves and caverns that you can explore on
free-swimming. You may also come across the look-out for creatures as diverse as gi-
seahorses here such as the Pacific seahorse ant jawfish, sea horses and horn sharks. This
in and around the wall where innumerable site is a firm favorite among Sea of Cortez
blennies poke their heads out, octopus move exoerienced divers, yielding not only many
from crevice to crevice hunting, and swarms diverse sightings but also being among
of little reef fish dance around. These can in- the most colorful dive sites in the area.
clude Panamic sergeant majors, Cortez dam-
selfish and Beaubrummel damselfish. Occa-
