ReefSeason BETAPrologue
Green Eel at Malmock Reef Aruba
A dive briefing · Aruba

California Wreck

Dive site off Aruba. Here's what has been recorded at this site month by month, how the region’s reefs have weathered ocean heat, and how to prepare.

Arubawreck
Near this sitegeotagged about 2.2 km from the site coordinates Green Eel at Malmock Reef Aruba · Serge Melki from Indianapolis, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Fishies at Malmock Reef Aruba
Chapter I · Arrival

California Wreck: dive site off Aruba.

~12.623° N~70.044° W · OpenStreetMap · node/7452989993
1,097open records · GBIF
8species recorded
Near this sitegeotagged about 2.3 km from the site coordinates Fishies at Malmock Reef Aruba · Serge Melki from Indianapolis, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
II

Entry

Fishies at Malmock Reef Aruba

Entry points, depths, currents and any local rules will be added once we can verify them from official sources.

Approximate positionThese coordinates come from a crowd-sourced map or Wikidata item, not an official mooring list. Use them for orientation only.
To verifyDepth range, entry points and current notes. We publish them only with a citation. The coordinates mark the site in general, not a mooring or entry point.

Near this sitegeotagged about 2.3 km from the site coordinates Fishies at Malmock Reef Aruba · Serge Melki from Indianapolis, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Green Eel at Malmock Reef Aruba
Open media · Near this sitegeotagged about 2.2 km from the site coordinates Green Eel at Malmock Reef Aruba · Serge Melki from Indianapolis, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The surface noise falls away.

Reds go first. The world turns blue-green.

Then California Wreck rises to meet you.

Green Eel at Malmock Reef Aruba
IV

What lives here, by month

Pick a month. These are the species most often recorded within about a kilometre in that month, from open survey records.

Oct
October · 103 qualifying records
Life calendar · records per month for this site's most-recorded species (blank means not in that month's top list)
SpeciesJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Bleeding tooth
Four-tooth nerite
Caribbean hermit crab
Purple land crab
Checkered nerite
Sally Lightfoot crab
killer whale
West Indian topsnail

Most-recorded species, all months

  1. Caribbean hermit crab (2)
  2. Bleeding tooth (2)
  3. Four-tooth nerite (2)
  4. Sally Lightfoot crab (1)
  5. West Indian topsnail (1)
  6. killer whale (1)
  7. Purple land crab (1)
  8. Checkered nerite (1)

GBIF.org (2026-10-15), occurrence records within ~1 km, licensed CC0 or CC BY 4.0 only. Birds and land animals are excluded. Counts reflect survey effort, not abundance. 1,097 qualifying records. See them on GBIF. Common names: Wikidata (CC0) / GBIF. Species photos: Wikimedia Commons, credited with each species.

V

Forty-one summers of heat

Each stripe is one year since 1985, colored by its peak heat stress across NOAA's “Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire” region. These are NOAA Coral Reef Watch satellite figures for the whole region, not for this one site.

19852026
Reef health report · Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire

Heat stress, measured from orbit.

Degree Heating Weeks · 2026-10-131.3°C-weeks · NOAA status: Bleaching Warning

NOAA CRW virtual station “Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire”. NOAA's alert thresholds are 4 °C-weeks (Alert Level 1) and 8 °C-weeks (Alert Level 2). Station page · Method. Credit: NOAA Coral Reef Watch.

Peak per year · dashed lines at 4, 8 and 16 °C-weeks
The past twelve months
VI

Conditions

Average sea temperature through the year. Check the live readings before you go.

Average sea surface temperature by month: NOAA CRW “Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire” station climatology (monthly means).

Departamento Meteorologico Aruba · forecasts →

Buoy readings are measurements; forecasts are models. Use them for planning only, and assess conditions on site. Depth and visibility data aren't listed until we can cite a source.

VII

Plan & prepare

  1. Read the official marine forecast the night before.Offshore, wind and sea state decide the day.
  2. Confirm access, hours and any fees with the site.[Placeholder: verified operator list to come]
  3. Study this month's species above.You'll recognise more when you know the names.
  4. Hands off, fins up, buoyancy dialled. Log what you see.Your sightings can become tomorrow's open data.

Credits

Coordinates
OpenStreetMap node/7452989993 · source · ODbL. Wikidata (CC0) and OpenStreetMap (ODbL) features. Approximate positions; two use the named bay or island nearby. Approximate position.
Species records
GBIF.org, CC0 & CC BY 4.0 records. By license: CC_BY_4_0: 1,081, CC0_1_0: 16
Dataset
EOD – eBird Observation Dataset · doi:10.15468/aomfnb (1,065 records) · GBIF
Dataset
iNaturalist Research-grade Observations · doi:10.15468/ab3s5x (14 records) · GBIF
Dataset
NCSM Herpetology Collection · doi:10.36102/dwc.3 (9 records) · GBIF
Dataset
Delaware Museum of Nature and Science – Mollusks · doi:10.15468/lfwzak (3 records) · GBIF
Dataset
Natural History Museum Rotterdam - Specimens · doi:10.15468/kwqaay (3 records) · GBIF
Dataset
Birda - Global Observation Dataset · doi:10.15468/6kud7x (2 records) · GBIF
Dataset
Killer whales of the Caribbean Sea 1866-2012 · doi:10.82144/c1b2bac7 (1 records) · GBIF
Query
https://api.gbif.org/v1/occurrence/search?decimalLatitude=12.61326,12.63326&decimalLongitude=-70.05407000000001,-70.03407&license=CC0_1_0&license=CC_BY_4_0&taxonKey=44&taxonKey=206&taxonKey=229&taxonKey=136&taxonKey=225&occurrenceStatus=PRESENT&limit=0
Heat stress & SST
NOAA Coral Reef Watch, 5 km Regional Virtual Station “Aruba, Curacao, and Bonaire”
Hero photo
Near this sitegeotagged about 2.2 km from the site coordinates Green Eel at Malmock Reef Aruba · Serge Melki from Indianapolis, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Arrival photo
Near this sitegeotagged about 2.3 km from the site coordinates Fishies at Malmock Reef Aruba · Serge Melki from Indianapolis, USA · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Gallery
7 photos, credited under each image
Species photos
Wikimedia Commons, credited with each species. Full list: Data & sources