← Rock Pool Directory/ Ecuador/ Gardner Bay

Gardner Bay

Cantón San Cristóbal, Galápagos · Ecuador

What have people found?

Pronghorn spiny lobster, sandy sea cucumber and galápagos reef octopus turn up here more than at our other rock pools. Sally lightfoot crab, chocolate chip sea star and fire tentacle anemone are the usual finds. ~56 distinct species have been recorded here.

What is the best time to visit today?

Download the app to see the 7-day schedule.

See low tide times at Gardner Bay for the next three days
  1. Sun 15 Novin the dark~0:00~12:00
  2. Mon 16 Novin the dark~1:00~13:00
  3. Tue 17 Novin the dark~2:00~14:00

Every low tide each day, in local time at the shore.

Plan the week in Intertidal
  • A tide chart for every day, with the best window marked
  • Identify what you find from a photo
  • An alert when a good daylight low is coming

When do people visit?

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Most observations come from February and June.

What should you know before visiting?

Arrive 45 minutes to an hour before low tide and leave as it turns. The water comes back faster than it left.
Grippy shoes beat sandals. Wet rock and algae are more slippery than they look. Rock pool safety
A rock pool is a fragile place. Look and photograph, take nothing. The rockpooling code

What lives at Gardner Bay?

Species records from iNaturalist

Sally Lightfoot CrabGrapsus grapsus
Chocolate Chip Sea StarNidorellia armata
Fire Tentacle AnemoneBunodosoma grande
Panamic Cushion StarPentaceraster cumingi
Ecuadorian Hermit CrabCoenobita compressus
Orange Cup CoralTubastraea coccinea
Galapagos Slate Pencil UrchinEucidaris galapagensis
Lytechinus semituberculatusLytechinus semituberculatus
Galápagos Reef OctopusOctopus oculifer
Pronghorn Spiny LobsterPanulirus penicillatus
Blue Sea StarPhataria unifascialis
Red Sun StarHeliaster cumingi
Rough-ribbed NeriteNerita scabricosta
Columbella fuscataColumbella fuscata
Sandy Sea CucumberHolothuria inornata
Scan this rock pool on your next visit.

Every organism named, every visit logged to your journal.