Orange Cup Coral

Photo: David R · CC BY-NC

Orange cup corals carpet the shaded walls and ceiling of La Catedral's arch, their vivid tentacles fully extended in the nutrient-rich current that sweeps through the formation. Unlike tropical reef-building corals, cup corals are non-photosynthetic and thrive in the low-light, cold-water environment created by the arch geometry, making La Catedral one of the finest cold-water coral displays on the South American Pacific coast. The density of colonies here — thousands of individual polyps per square metre — rivals the richest tropical reef walls in terms of invertebrate cover, just in unexpected cold, dim conditions.