Orange Canyon

Orange Canyon is named for its furniture: elephant-ear sponges the size of armchairs, in a saturated orange that flashbulbs restore from the blue gloom like a developing photograph. They cluster on the canyon walls and the pinnacle at the drop-off, framing one of West Bay's prettiest wall lips. The corner location earns bonus traffic: horse-eye jacks, passing eagle rays, sometimes a reef shark on the far side of visibility. Photographers treat it as a portrait studio; everyone else enjoys a straightforward, gorgeous wall dive with one unforgettable color.

The moment you come for: Giant orange elephant-ear sponges, photogenic wall lip, pelagic traffic off the corner.

Topography: A sand canyon feeding over the wall lip, its pinnacles crowded with orange elephant-ear sponges.

Current: The corner position brings occasional current, and the fish that ride it.

Entry: West Bay mooring near the island's northwest corner.

Hazards: Depth along the lip and occasional corner current.

Conservation: The signature sponges are slow-growing and fragile; a single fin strike undoes decades.

Nitrox: Worth it here: profiles sit in the range where enriched air meaningfully extends no-stop time (with the training to use it).