Salvatierra Wreck – La Paz & Espíritu Santo

Site Overview

The Salvatierra wreck is a former ferry that sank in 1976 and now rests on a sandy bottom at 18-25 metres depth in La Paz Bay, serving as one of the Sea of Cortez's most productive artificial reefs teeming with batfish, groupers, moray eels, and diverse schooling fish. The approximately 40-metre vessel sits upright on the sandy seabed with its deck structures largely intact, creating a multi-level diving experience from the shallow deck at 18 metres to the hull base at 25 metres. Nearly five decades of marine colonisation have transformed the steel ferry into a thriving artificial reef encrusted with gorgonian sea fans, sponges, and colourful invertebrates that attract constant streams of reef fish. Large schools of batfish hover above the wreck's superstructure while hefty groupers patrol the deck areas and moray eels occupy every suitable crevice in the deteriorating hull. The wreck's interior spaces are accessible to trained wreck divers through several openings, though penetration requires careful buoyancy control to avoid stirring the accumulated silt that can rapidly reduce visibility. The sandy bottom surrounding the wreck attracts stingrays and occasional angel sharks while the water column above hosts schooling jacks and seasonal pelagic visitors. The Salvatierra's accessibility from La Paz harbor and reliable marine life encounters make it a staple of local dive operations and an essential complement to the natural reef diving at Espíritu Santo and Los Islotes.