Iliuliuk Reef - Alaska
Arno’s Underwater Reef can be a proper rush, especially when the current picks up. We’d suggest starting close to the drop-off; otherwise, you’ll be working hard to cover ground. Expect a steady drift past walls dense with coral, dropping to around 22 meters for recreational divers, though the reef itself keeps going. We’ve spotted pygmy seahorses tucked into gorgonian fans here and, if you’re lucky, a manta ray might cruise by in the blue. Keep an eye out for Denise's pygmy seahorse and perhaps a leatherback sea turtle. The dive ends shallow in a pretty soft coral garden, a nice calm finish after the channel's energy.
- Location
- Alaska, United States, North America
- Coordinates
- 53.878387, -166.535190
- Type
- reef
Nearby Dive Sites in Alaska
- Alarm Rocks (wreck)
- Alert Rock
- Amethyst Rock
- Bar Rocks
- Benson Rock
- Bligh Reef (reef)
- Blow Reef (wreck)
- Bonson Rock (wreck)
- Boussole Rock
- Breaker Reef (reef)
- Carlo Rock (wreck)
- Celestial Reef (reef)
- Chanal Reef (reef)
- Client Reefs (wreck)
- Cluster Reefs
Marine Life in Alaska
Home to 64 recorded species including 27 reef fish, 8 whales & dolphins, 7 crabs & lobsters, 5 sharks & rays, 3 other, 2 clams & mussels.
Notable Species
- Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) - Reef Fish
- Spotted Ratfish (Hydrolagus colliei)
- Shortspine thornyhead (Sebastolobus alascanus) - Reef Fish
- Spiny Dogfish (Squalus suckleyi) - Sharks & Rays
- Calico salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) - Reef Fish
- Eulachon (Thaleichthys pacificus) - Reef Fish
- Whiting (Merluccius productus) - Reef Fish
- coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) - Reef Fish
- Pink Salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) - Reef Fish
- Pacific Geoduck (Panopea generosa) - Clams & Mussels
- Slender Sole (Lyopsetta exilis) - Reef Fish
- red salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) - Reef Fish
- Red Rock Crab (Cancer productus) - Crabs & Lobsters
- California Spot Prawn (Pandalus platyceros) - Crabs & Lobsters
- Shiner Perch (Cymatogaster aggregata) - Reef Fish
- Giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) - Seagrass & Algae
- Dungeness Crab (Metacarcinus magister) - Crabs & Lobsters
- Spawn (Gasterosteus aculeatus) - Reef Fish
- Sunflower star (Pycnopodia helianthoides) - Starfish
- Chinook (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) - Reef Fish