Anemone City

The dive

Anemone City is a coral shelf projecting from the reef wall inside Ras Mohammed National Park, at the southern tip of the Sinai peninsula. The plateau is shallow - published figures run from about 5 m at the top to 25 m where it drops away, with most of it between 8 and 18 m - and it is named for what covers it: a dense field of giant anemones, some over a metre across, each with its own colony of Red Sea clownfish and twin-spot damsels. A coral-encrusted metal post at about 15 m marks the centre of the plateau.

It is normally run as a drift from the northern end of the plateau, and it is very often the first half of a dive that finishes at Shark Reef, which is less than 100 m away. Current can be strong, but the depths are manageable and dive centres describe it as suited to most levels - including open-water divers on their first Red Sea dives. Broccoli coral covers much of the shelf and table corals fringe its edges.

Our occurrence records for the site are unusually rich compared with the Dahab coastal reefs: bluespotted ribbontail ray and giant moray lead, followed by scalefin anthias, twoband anemonefish, bluespine unicornfish, forsteri hawkfish, humphead wrasse, rusty parrotfish, yellowmargin triggerfish, crocodilefish, coral hind, orbicular batfish and yellowbar angelfish.

Ras Mohammed is a declared national park and the rules apply: diving in designated areas, no touching or removing anything, EEAA-licensed operators, and a marine-park fee collected by your dive centre.

• Shallow plateau at roughly 5-25 m, most of it between 8 and 18 m
• Hundreds of giant anemones with Red Sea clownfish and twin-spot damsels
• Coral-encrusted metal post at about 15 m marking the plateau centre
• Normally drifted from the north and combined with Shark Reef, under 100 m away
• Inside Ras Mohammed National Park: park rules and a per-trip fee apply

Conditions

A shallow plateau drift inside a national park. Boats drop divers at the northern end and the current carries you across the anemone field, usually continuing towards Shark Reef. Current can be strong; depths are forgiving.

On current: Published depths differ by where you are on the shelf: sources give 5 m at the top sloping to 25 m before the drop-off, a plateau of roughly 5-15 m, and 'most of the plateau between 8 and 18 m'. We record 5-25 m. A metal post at about 15 m marks the plateau centre. Current is described as sometimes strong, and the dive is normally planned as a drift from the northern end; despite that, centres rate the site as suited to most levels because the depths are shallow. No visibility figure specific to this site was found, so it is left blank.

Dives & underwater footage