Big Drop-Off
Conditions & tides
Scored by DiveConnect's site-physics model
Marine forecast via Copernicus Marine. Score is a rule-based guide from swell/wind vs. the site's exposure — always dive your own assessment.
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About this site
Big Drop-off is a vertical wall in Palau, plunging from just below the surface into water that is said to fall to about 800 metres at the foot of the wall. Depths start at 15 metres and run beyond 50 metres, visibility is 15 to 25 metres or more, and the current is mild to medium. It is a wall for beginners as well as advanced divers, and also one of Palau's best snorkelling spots.
The wall is covered in soft corals and sponges, with giant sea fans that can spread more than 2 metres wide at the corners. Pyramid butterflyfish crowd the wall, picking plankton, blue-green damselfish flit around, and shoals of fusiliers and anthias make a colourful backdrop. Longnose butterflyfish and clownfish sometimes come up to the mask. In the coral, look for pygmy seahorses and coral crabs.
Marine life here
Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.
TrevallyTrevallyReported here · unconfirmed
ButterflyfishButterflyfishReported here · unconfirmed
AnthiasAnthiasReported here · unconfirmed
Sea turtleSea turtleReported here · unconfirmed
ClownfishClownfishReported here · unconfirmed
DamselfishDamselfishReported here · unconfirmed
Harlequin SweetlipsPlectorhinchus chaetodonoidesReported here · unconfirmed
Redtooth TriggerfishOdonus nigerReported here · unconfirmed
Clown TriggerfishBalistoides conspicillumReported here · unconfirmed
Pink Skunk AnemonefishAmphiprion perideraionReported here · unconfirmed
FusilierFusilierReported here · unconfirmed
Napoleon WrasseCheilinus undulatusReported here · unconfirmed
Whitetip Reef SharkTriaenodon obesusReported here · unconfirmed
Pyramid ButterflyfishHemitaurichthys polylepisReported here · unconfirmed
Midnight SnapperMacolor macularisReported here · unconfirmed
Moorish IdolZanclus cornutusReported here · unconfirmed
TriggerfishTriggerfishReported here · unconfirmed
Grey Reef SharkCarcharhinus amblyrhynchosObserved near here · iNaturalist
Hawksbill Sea TurtleEretmochelys imbricataObserved near here · iNaturalist
Durable tips from divers — access, hazards, marine life, facilities. For day-of conditions, use the report tool in the conditions card above.
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