El Mosquito (La Herradura)

El Mosquito is one of the most popular dives of the Maro-Cerro Gordo coastal natural area on Granada's southern coast, declared in 1989 along the limestone cliffs east of La Herradura. The site is a wall on the western face of the cape, descending from 6 metres at the surface boulders to 30 metres on a sand and rubble bottom, with several small overhangs and recesses along the descent. The wall is decorated with bright yellow gorgonia colonies at the upper edge and small red gorgonia on the deeper overhangs, encrusting sponges and yellow cup coral. Marine life on this stretch of coast is rich for the Alboran Sea, with regular encounters with sunfish in late spring, schools of saddled seabream and salema, octopus, painted comber, moray eels and the occasional bull ray on the sand. Currents are usually weak but viz is moderate at 10 to 15 metres. The Andalusian Mediterranean coast covers the Alboran Sea, the boundary between Atlantic and Mediterranean waters, and benefits from the inflow of cooler Atlantic surface water that supports a mixed fauna unique in the basin. Water temperature ranges from 14 C in February to 25 C in August. Cabo de Gata-Nijar Natural Park and the Maro-Cerro Gordo natural area are the two principal MPAs, and dive operators run from Almeria, La Herradura and Roquetas de Mar.