Scorpion Anchorage
Santa Cruz Island · Channel Islands National Park · California
Visibility Breakdown
Visibility by position
Solid = diver report · outlined = today's forecast
Post Break: The range past where any waves are forming, where the water starts to have a significant increase in visibility. There might be some sediment here, but swell energy is diffused and the water is calmer.
Open Water: This zone is far out enough from the shore that the water is at its clearest. It’s deep enough that sediment is not disturbed by the wave energy at the surface. Haze can sit near the surface, so the water is usually clearer the deeper you go.
Through the day
Today's visibility readings at this spot, shown at the hour each one was taken.
Every bar is a reading for the Post Break zone.
This chart shows measured diver reports only.
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Coastal Bulletin
About Scorpion Anchorage
Why it reads 27 ft
Today's forecast runs
The clarity holds through the day, with a light afternoon onshore the only disturbance to the entry shallows.
High confidence
7-Day Forecast
Today is the live headline above. Tomorrow onward is the algorithm's forecast from predicted swell, wind, and rain, updated each morning and at 6 PM Pacific.
Map and parking
Channel Islands National Park · California
There is no car parking on Santa Cruz Island. Access is by Island Packers ferry from Ventura Harbor, about a one and a half hour crossing, with daily service to Scorpion in summer and most-day service the rest of the year. The ferry lands at a small dock, and the mixed sand and cobble Scorpion Beach is steps from the landing. An NPS campground sits above the beach, and the concession (Channel Islands Adventure Company) rents snorkel gear and runs guided trips on the beach.
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See the offshore water on Pelagiscape →Clarity, temperature breaks and kelp off this beach.
About Scorpion Anchorage
Scorpion Anchorage sits on the northeast corner of Santa Cruz Island, in a mixed sand and cobble cove sheltered by a low headland on the east and the cliff that rises toward Cavern Point on the west. The Island Packers ferry from Ventura Harbor lands at a small dock at the back of the cove, and an NPS campground, a concession kiosk for snorkel and kayak rentals, and a network of trails up into the island's interior all sit above the beach. The shore-entry dive starts where the cobble meets the water at the east end of the cove and runs out into a kelp bed that drops gradually from the surface to forty or fifty feet on rock.
Species found here
Researched habitat and range candidates. A listed species may be seasonal or depth-limited; this is not a confirmed sighting at this location.
Surf Zone
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