Text
and Photography by Rick Frehsee
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Bahamas walls offer breathtaking vistas, populated by colorful marine
life. Whether inland or submerged in the sea, the incredible
blue holes are the result of centuries of freshwater dissolving
and redepositing limestone.
 alls
and blue holes are simultaneously special,
and widespread, dive experiences in The
Bahamas. Walls, the most generally dramatic
expression of the coral reef, will at
times plummet directly into the great
trenches, thousands of feet deep, that
line the archipelago. Blue holes, while
not exclusively a phenomenon of The Bahamas,
are found here in a greater number than
anywhere on earth. And, The Bahamas has
the only known tidal blue holes in the
world. Together, the walls and blue holes
turn The Bahamas dive experience on its
side. Blue holes are a phenomenon created
during several ice ages, when sea levels
were 400 feet lower and The Bahamas was
a great exposed limestone platform.
Centuries
of acidic rain water etched into the vast
bank, creating circular depressions and
other magnificent formations. Today, most
blue holes are located in shallow water
on the Great and Little Bahama Banks, while
others are inland pools.
Wall
Diving in The Bahamas
Walls
are found throughout The Bahamas and their profiles
range from those that end at sand bottoms 60 to 100
feet deep, to seemingly infinite vertical descents.
It is along these escarpments of the deep reef that
the majesty of coral spires and the magnificence of
sponges is fully realized. Seafans, bryozoans, seawhips
and Black Coral mix and mingle with the sponges, creating
a garden carpet of life. More color and the addition
of motion is provided from solitary and schooling reef
fish. Every wall is similar, yet different: Profile,
shape, size and predominant colors vary from site to
site. The following walls are among the most stunning,
popular and accessible in The Bahamas:
The
Great Lucaya or Grand Bahama Wall
The southern coast of Grand Bahama Island is lined with a continuous
fringing reef and drop-off with hundreds of wall sites featuring
caves, caverns and swim-throughs. The top of the wall usually begins
in about 80 feet of water.
Lyford
Cay Wall
Off
the northwest coast of New Providence Island (Nassau)
is a famed coral cliff beginning in 35 feet of water.
Southwest
Wall
Facing
the Tongue of the Ocean on the New Providence side
is a coral canyon several miles in length. The area
adjacent to the popular shark dive sites is particularly
colorful, with many sponge decorated pinnacles protruding
from the wall.
The
Andros Wall
The "greatest
of all Bahama walls" is found at Andros, the largest
island in the chain. The Andros Wall offers uncountable
sites that display mountains and canyons of every shape
and size.
The
Bimini Wall
From
the Biminis southward is a nearly continuous wall facing
the Gulf Stream. The North Bimini Wall is just south
of the entrance channel to North Bimini and begins
in 120 feet of water. This is generally a drift dive
for very experienced divers. To the south are numerous
walls, such as those at South Cat Cay Wall, Victory
Cays Drop-off and Riding Rock Wall-all of these are
fish filled spectacles that begin in 30 to 90 feet.
The
Exuma Wall
Directly
off Highbourne Cay is a drop-off that faces the Exuma
Sound. This is a vertical wall, 75 feet deep.
Your
Expert Guides To Bahama
Walls and Blue Holes |
For
a professional introduction to blue hole
diving, or to explore any of the fabulous
Bahama walls, use this article to select
the area of The Bahamas you are interested
in. Then contact the dive operators located
in that area, as listed in our Bahamas Diving
Association members
listing. |
Chub
Cay Wall
A continuous drop-off runs from the southwest tip of Chub Cay to
Whale Cay, in the Berry Islands. These sites offer a variety of wall
formations.
Riding
Rock Wall
Dozens of popular wall sites are located along the western coast to
the southern tip of San Salvador Island in the south-central Bahamas.
Conception
Island Wall
Here is one of the most dramatic and colorful walls in all of the archipelago.
The wall begins in 45 to 60 feet of water, its entire length decorated
with spectacular sponge and coral formations.
Diving
the Blue Holes
Blue
holes that are accessible to divers are sprinkled throughout
The Bahamas. Some are cavern diving experiences and others
are mile-long labyrinths, off limits to sport divers. Access
to blue hole diving varies; some are controlled and monitored
by the Bahamas National Trust. Entry to others is policed
by local organizations. Although some unique organisms
are found in blue holes, the attraction here is chiefly
geological's experiencing a spectacular visual realm seldom
seen by other human beings. The greatest concentration
of blue holes is found both inland and in the shallows
of Andros Island, where more than 50 blue holes have been
recorded. Other concentrations of blue holes occur on and
off Grand Bahama Island (Ben's Cavern, for example), the
Exumas and Eleuthera. One of the world's deepest blue holes
is located off Long Island and is surrounded on three sides
by land. A few well-known blue holes are located off Nassau,
the Biminis and scattered throughout the Out Islands.
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