Monterey, California, United States

Monterey Breakwater

The Breakwater (also called San Carlos Beach or the Coast Guard Wall) is the most-dived shore site on the US west coast and the home water of the Monterey training community. It runs along the west side of the granite breakwater that protects the US Coast Guard Pier in Monterey Bay, with easy entry from a small sandy beach. The wall drops in steps from 6 to 18 metres along the rocks and continues onto a gradually deepening sand bottom. The site sits within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary and is a Marine Protected Area; fishing is restricted. Resident species include hundreds of metridium anemones blanketing the breakwater rocks, large lingcod, cabezon, China and blue rockfish, painted greenling, rainbow nudibranchs and a colony of California sea lions that haul out on top of the wall. Sea otters work the kelp at the surface. Visibility is highly variable, typically 5 to 10 metres, with the best windows in late summer and fall after spring upwelling has cleared.