Planning a trip?
Hotels, dive operators, gear, and how to get here are on the Socorro Islands location page.
Overview
A submerged volcanic pinnacle off the northwest side of San Benedicto Island, rising from roughly 40m to within about 6m of the surface. Named for the way swell breaks over its two 'horns' and makes the water appear to boil, the site functions as a giant manta cleaning station where Mobula birostris are tended by clarion angelfish and routinely engage divers at close range. Bottlenose dolphins, multiple shark species and the occasional humpback whale song round out a small, circumnavigable seamount that can be looped twice in a single dive.
Briefing note
Inside the Revillagigedo National Park / UNESCO World Heritage Site (2016) and Mexico's largest fully protected marine reserve (2017); access requires permits held by licensed liveaboards. Touching mantas is prohibited. Diving on top of the pinnacle is not allowed due to heavy surge that can injure divers and damage coral. Watch for down-currents along the walls and the bottom dropping to ~50m+; most liveaboards require 50+ logged dives and advanced/nitrox certification. Surface support carries DSMBs and individual GPS/radio beacons standard.
What you'll see
9 species curated- year-roundGiant oceanic manta ray
- year-roundClarion angelfish
- year-roundBottlenose dolphin
- year-roundWhitetip reef shark
- year-roundSilky shark
- year-roundGalapagos shark
- seasonalScalloped hammerheadPeak: May · Jun · Jul
- seasonalHumpback whalePeak: Jan · Feb · Mar · Apr
- rareWhale shark
Sightings evidence
1 record on file- high confidenceGiant oceanic manta ray
- Last confirmed
- May 2026
- Recent records
- 65 within 25 km
Sources & methodology
How we summarise this
We aggregate confirmed occurrence records from GBIF and OBIS within a fixed radius of each dive site. Occurrence records confirm presence and reveal seasonality clustering, but they DO NOT measure per-dive probability — there is no eligible-effort denominator. We deliberately do not publish a numeric '% chance of sighting' from this data.
Sources
- Global Biodiversity Information Facility — GBIF Secretariat
- Ocean Biodiversity Information System — IOC-UNESCO
- iNaturalist — California Academy of Sciences & National Geographic Society
- IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — International Union for Conservation of Nature
- Manta Trust IDtheManta Database — Manta Trust
- OBIS-SEAMAP — Duke University Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab / OBIS
- WoRMS — World Register of Marine Species — Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ)
- FishBase — FishBase Consortium
- Atlas of Living Australia — CSIRO / GBIF Australia
- REEF Volunteer Fish Survey — Reef Environmental Education Foundation
Conditions
| Month | Water | Visibility | Current |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 22–24 °C | 20–30 m | moderate |
| Feb | 21–23 °C | 20–30 m | moderate |
| Mar | 21–23 °C | 20–30 m | moderate |
| Apr | 21–23 °C | 20–30 m | moderate |
| May | 20–23 °C | 20–30 m | moderate |
| Jun | 23–26 °C | 25–30 m | moderate |
| Jul | 25–28 °C | 20–30 m | moderate |
| Aug | 26–28 °C | 15–25 m | moderate |
| Sep | 26–28 °C | 15–25 m | strong |
| Oct | 25–28 °C | 15–25 m | strong |
| Nov | 24–27 °C | 15–30 m | moderate |
| Dec | 23–25 °C | 15–30 m | moderate |
Season calendar
Peak season highlighted · current month outlined
Next step
Book your trip to Socorro Islands
Hotels, liveaboards, dive operators, gear recommendations, and travel logistics for the whole region.
Plan your trip →Some links earn us a commission. Learn more