White Point
There's something for everyone at White Point. Beginner and expert divers will find interesting underwater vistas to explore. Ship wrecks and old construction have left bits and pieces of history strewn through the area. Plus, reefs and kelp around the point are harbors for the elusive critters. The Big Attraction here is the Warm Water Vents in the Shallows. About 50 Yards out you'll find areas with almost no growth and a mixed White and Black Sandy Bottom. You may see "Murky Water" in these areas as well. If so, you're over the vents - Try taking your Gloves off and putting them in the sand, you'll feel the Heat - It's pretty Cool (or is that Hot)! Expect to see Bat Stars, Sea Cucumbers, Moray eels and lots of Nudibranchs as you venture away from the Vents. Go a little Deeper and East and you'll run into Kelp and Rock outcrops loaded with goodies. The best diving is in the kelp bed about 200 yards east of the cove, Rock formations with dramatic overhangs, schools of fish darting throughout the kelp, barracuda, Giant Seabass, lobster, large sand rose anemones and batrays can be found here. Entry in the cove can be tough. Slippery rocks and shallow water extends more than sixty feet from shore. It is best to dive here at high tide. The park is closed at night, but you can enter via the fire road east of the baseball field and enter the water on either side of the point. Two thousand feet offshore is a beautiful reef with several species of sponges, different nudibranchs than those found inshore and various rockfish. The reef is about thirty feet wide and one hundred feet long and rises twenty feet above the sand. There are smaller rocks about fifty feet NE of White Point Rock. The only location on Palos Verdes Peninsula with parking right by the water. Swim approx 200 yards straight out at 40' depth. 1.5 miles East of the junction of I-110 and the Pacific Coast Highway, take Western Ave South toward the ocean. In about 5.5 miles, it will merge with West Paseo Del Mar. You'll see the view of the following picture.
