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Taiwan Dive Sites Map
3 dive sites, 6 photos
Click the map to enable scroll-wheel zoom. Switch on “Water depth shading” and click anywhere for the approximate depth, “Seafloor relief” for sonar-surveyed areas, or “Nautical marks” (zoom in) for harbours, wrecks, buoys and lights. Depth data (GEBCO grid of roughly 450 m; GMRT only where ships have surveyed) and nautical marks (OpenSeaMap) are for orientation only, not for navigation or dive planning. Pin positions mark the start of the dive (boat anchor or entry point), not the exact spot underwater. Zoom out to see dive sites of other locations: grey pins are dive sites without photos, flags are dive centers. Pale pins show an approximate position (nearby dive center or dive area).
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Diving Green Island, Taiwan
Green Island (Lüdao) is a small volcanic island about 33 km off the southeast coast of Taiwan. It lies directly in the path of the Kuroshio Current, which brings warm, clear water and supports extensive hard- and soft-coral reefs. The combination of volcanic rock formations and coral growth creates a very different underwater landscape from the Caribbean reefs.
The main dive areas include Shilang, Chaikou, and Dabaisha. Shilang and Chaikou have extensive shallow coral reefs, while other sites offer walls, canyons, caves and deeper offshore reefs. The coral communities are particularly diverse, and surveys have recorded hundreds of fish species as well as a remarkable variety of mollusks, crustaceans and nudibranchs.
The Kuroshio Current is also an important factor when diving Green Island. It provides the warm water and nutrients that support the reefs, but currents and changing sea conditions can make some sites considerably more challenging. The choice of dive site therefore depends strongly on wind, waves, tides and current conditions.
Marine life includes large numbers of tropical reef fish, sea turtles, moray eels, groupers, rays and numerous smaller animals. For an underwater photographer, the combination of healthy coral growth and abundant macro life, particularly nudibranchs and small crustaceans, makes Green Island interesting even when conditions are not suitable for the more exposed sites.
Green Island is therefore an interesting example of a subtropical coral ecosystem influenced by a major ocean current. The reefs are not simply a continuation of the tropical reefs of Southeast Asia: their location in the western Pacific and the seasonal influence of the Kuroshio give the island its own characteristic combination of coral and marine life.