Elphinstone Reef

Elphinstone Reef (also called Dabab Elphinstone) is a solitary, finger-shaped coral reef sitting roughly 12 kilometres offshore from Marsa Alam in the Egyptian Red Sea. The reef runs north to south, with broad plateaus at both the northern and southern tips and near-vertical walls on the eastern and western flanks that drop into deep open water. Its isolated position in the open sea channels oceanic currents along its walls, concentrating nutrients and attracting pelagic life from the surrounding blue.

Depths along the reef range from the shallow plateau areas down to around 35 metres on the walls, with a maximum depth of 39.5 metres. The best action typically plays out between 20 and 35 metres along the drop-offs and plateaus. Diving with Enriched Air Nitrox is recommended to extend bottom time at these depths. The site is strictly for advanced divers — a minimum of an Advanced Open Water certification and 50 logged dives is typically required.

Elphinstone is best known for oceanic whitetip sharks, which patrol the shallow plateaus and mooring lines most reliably from October through January, with peak activity in autumn and early winter as water temperatures drop from summer highs. Hammerhead sharks are most frequently seen from June through August, and reef manta rays are also recorded here. The walls carry soft corals, gorgonian fans, and dense anthias schools.