Shale Island

Del Monte Beach, Monterey, California, United States

Shale Island is a raised shale plateau on the sand shelf off Del Monte Beach, Monterey — a roughly 120-metre-long high spot, like a low mesa, standing up to about two metres above an otherwise flat 17-metre sand bottom. The relief concentrates colourful invertebrate life and fish over bare sand. It is a boat-only site (GPS is effectively required to find it), with depths of 15–17 m, visibility usually around 5–12 m, and light currents — best suited to intermediate and more experienced divers.