Baixa do Espelho
Description
Boat
20 minutes from the Ponta Delgada Marina, 60 minutes from the Vila Franca do Campo Marina
Depth
Baixa do Espelho
The Baixa do Espelho (Mirror Reef), also known as the Baixa da Relva (Relva Reef), is located in front of the parish of Relva about 200 metres from the coast and about 5 miles from the Ponta Delgada Marina.
With a minimum depth of 6 metres and a maximum of 23 metres, this dive is accessible to all divers and is suitable for snorkelling. The top of the reef is full of small colourful fish, typical of the Azores, as well as several species of moray eels that peek through the holes. Small ornate wrasses (Thalassoma pavo), schools of salema porgies (Sarpa salpa) and grey triggerfish (Balistes carolinensis) can also be seen.
Descending along the reefs flank, you will find a small cave which you can enter to see some stretches of black coral (Antipathes wollastoni). This is an excellent place to see schools of pelagic fish such as Almaco jacks (Seriola rivoliana) and yellowmouth barracudas (Sphyraena viridensis).
Close to the bottom, at a depth of 23-metres, you can sometimes spot large common stingrays (Dasyatis pastinaca) lying motionless on the sandy seafloor, as well as swallowtail seaperches (Anthia anthia).