Richardson Rock & NW Pinnacles

Richardson Rock and the northwest pinnacles are a field of offshore rocks and seamounts two to eight miles northwest of San Miguel Island, the most exposed dive ground in Channel Islands National Park. Richardson Rock sits about eight miles northwest of San Miguel, near the westernmost point of land in California, rising roughly nineteen feet above the surface and dropping in steep plateaus past recreational depth. Wilson Rock lies about two miles off the northwest side of the island. Skyscraper and Boomerang are deep seamounts roughly six miles north of Point Bennett. The four sites sit together as a single offshore dive ground.

Thick filter-feeder growth coats the walls in the open current, and wolf eels and octopus occupy the crevices through the structure. Depth runs from the surface at the exposed rock tops to past one hundred and thirty feet.

Diveable days here are rare. On most of the calendar, strong current, heavy surge, and deep dropoffs close the ground entirely, and even a settled forecast can turn during a dive. These sites are for experienced divers only.

The bare rock of the pinnacles and seamounts, the deep ledges, and the filter-feeder-encrusted faces standing in the open current make the northwest pinnacles a rocky reef biome. In the shallower sections, giant kelp anchors where it can and reaches the surface, a kelp forest biome on the shoulders of the rocks. The canyon biome is the vertical relief of the plateaus, dropping in steps from the rock tops past recreational depth. Pelagic species transit the open water around the rocks and the seamounts, a pelagic biome where the bottom falls into deep water.

Access is boat only. Charter dive boats run to Richardson Rock and the northwest pinnacles from Santa Barbara as part of multi-day trips to the outer islands, with the run conditional on a settled weather window.

Fishing and spearfishing are not legal here. All take inside the Richardson Rock State and Federal Marine Reserve has been prohibited since the designation, and the ground is open only to diving and observation.