Baking Swash Reef is the only cut in the western reef deep enough for boats to exit the central lagoon, making it a dangerous channel.
| Name divesite: | Baking Swash Reef |
| Depth: | 15-100ft (4-30m) |
| Visibility: | 70-170ft (21-51m) and more |
| Accessibility: | Shore, Boat, Live-aboard |
| Time to visit: | All year around |
| Inserted/Added by: | Lighthouse Reef Scuba Dive Cabins |
| Specifications: |  |
Baking Swash is a narrow cut through the western limb of Glover's atoll. Two weathered tree limbs mark the channel on each side. The cut through the reef is wide and deep enough to accommodate only small, manageable boats with a shallow draft. It is lined with coral and no more than 10 ft deep. Although shallow, narrow and remote, the channel itself can be a dangerous place to dive. Wave and tidal currents are not a problem, but power boats from local resorts use this passage because it is the only cut in the western limb of the atoll. Most captains are familiar with the cut and speed through it with little expectation of divers.
Reef development occurs over a broad, sloping bottom in two zones separated by a sandy flat. The shallow reefs grow up to sea level on either side of Baking Swash channel and extend 30 ft below the sea surface. The deep reefs are seaward of a wide sandy flat that features only a sparse cover of corals. Huge towers of coral form impressive mounds with up to 50 ft (15 meters) of relief.
Considerable variation exists in the marine life found on the two reef zones. Deep reefs are dominated by huge large-cup boulder coral and elegant growths of deep water lace coral. They are usually not nearly as varied and spectacular as the shallow reefs, so unless you simply want to do a deep dive, it is best to stay on the shallow reefs. Because the visibility is low, macro photography is probably the best here. Corals are very healthy and varied with most of the Caribbean species of hard and soft corals present.
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Editor: Lars Hemel Have fun breathing underwater, but breathing above water is even more important!
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