Top Snorkeling and Scuba Diving in Halifax

The golden sand beach is flanked on the south side by shale ridges running out to sea with kelp, seaweeds and lots of invertebrate marine life. The north side is contained by the long breakwater for the Halifax Container Peer. Divers shouldn't go past the breakwater, as large ships pass by. This still gives a huge area for diving. The central area of the dive site grads down to silt with some eelgrass beds. But the nicest diving is on the flanks. The shale is in bedding planes, like a layer cake making lots of nooks and crannies for critters to hide in. And the breakwater is a very steep slope composed of large boulders and some small rock all being taken over by the sealife! Good parking above the beach in the parking lot adjacent to the container terminal. There is a short walk along a boardwalk and a path to get to the beach itself. The area is very protected from the west and north winds. Black Rock Beach is also known as Point Pleasant Park east side.

The making of the park shoreline resulted in a steep slope of boulders interspaced with soft, muddy stretches offering a wealth of home for marine life to attach to rocks or live in the silt. Thus the larger boulders are cloaked in sponges, sea anemones, barnacles and other marine life, while thesilty areas have a rich fauna of Ceranthid Tube Anemones. This makes an interesting dive site for macrophotography. We dive this site on the off season, from November to April, as it is a popular boat launch spot in the boating season and we prefer to avoid the period of boat activity. If diving during the warmer months, be respectful of the boaers - it is their launch ramp we enter and exit off of, and use a dive float. The Stalked Anemones are richest to the south of the ramp, and the rocks and hard bottom marine life more plentiful to the left, north and west of the ramp on the flanks of the park in 6-10 m of water. The divesite is in Africville Park on the peninsula of Halifax, NS. It is in the north end of the city near the base of the MacKay Bridge, just off Barrington Street. One must drive north on Barrington Street to turn off to the right onto the side street to Africville Park, as there is no left turn travelling south on Barrington Street.