Diving the West Dives of Galapagos
The Cromwell Current greatly influences the westernmost dive sites of the Galapagos Islands. Here on the western side of the archipelago, waters can vary from 14 to 19 Celsius. Visibility can be dynamic, many times appearing poor within the first few meters. However, once passing through a thermocline, becoming extremely clear but cold, exceeding 40 meters at times. This cold upwelling attracts several species of Galapagos marine life that are more abundant here than elsewhere in the archipelago, such as schools of white salema, Galapagos horned shark, Galapagos rock bass, sailfin grouper, and Galapagos grunt. The three foremost attractions, however, are penguins, marine iguanas, and mola molas (or ocean sunfish).