Avilés Canyon

The Avilés Canyon is a submarine canyon located off the coast of Asturian, Spain in the Cantabrian Sea. It makes up a system of submarine canyons called the Avilés Canyon System (ACS) with the Corviro and La Gaviera canyons.[1] It runs obliquely off the coast for 75 kilometers and reaches depths of nearly 5 kilometers making it one of the deepest submarine canyons on Earth.[2][3]

Biodiversity

It is a hotspot in biodiversity with around 1,300 different species being found in the Avilés Canyon. Many whale species such as Sperm whales use this area as a passing zone.[2] There are many species of starfish found in this canyon with species such as Nymphaster arenatus and Henricia caudani being frequently observed.[4] Species of white coral such as Madrepora occulata and Lophelia pertusa also build reefs in cold waters that can date back to more than 8,000 years ago.[5]

List of species observed

Cetacea

  1. Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus)

Asteroidea

Source:[4]

  1. Henricia caudani
  2. Henricia sexradiata
  3. Myxaster perrieri
  4. Novodinia pandina
  5. Nymphaster arenatus
  6. Radiaster tizardi

Cephalopoda

  1. Giant squid (Architeuthis dux)

Coral

Source:[5]

  1. Madrepora occulata
  2. Lophelia pertusa

References

  1. ^ Biodiversidad, Fundación (2014-09-10). "Avilés Canyon System". Indemares. Retrieved 2025-10-20.
  2. ^ a b Spain, Fascinating (2025-06-26). "The world's deepest underwater canyon: almost 5 km deep and located in Spain". Fascinating Spain. Retrieved 2025-10-20.
  3. ^ Gómez-Ballesteros, María; Druet, María; Muñoz, Araceli; Arrese, Beatriz; Rivera, Jesús; Sánchez, Francisco; Cristobo, Javier; Parra, Santiago; García-Alegre, Ana; González-Pola, César; Gallastegui, Jorge; Acosta, Juan (2014-08-01). "Geomorphology of the Avilés Canyon System, Cantabrian Sea (Bay of Biscay)". Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography. Oceanography of the Bay of Biscay. 106: 99–117. Bibcode:2014DSRII.106...99G. doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2013.09.031. hdl:10261/319903. ISSN 0967-0645.
  4. ^ a b García-Guillén, Laura M.; Macías-Ramírez, Aurora; Ríos, Pilar; Manjón-Cabeza, M. Eugenia (2022-10-31). "Deep sea starfishes (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) from the Avilés Canyon System (Bay of Biscay), including two new records". Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. 277 107993. Bibcode:2022ECSS..27707993G. doi:10.1016/j.ecss.2022.107993. hdl:10261/318671. ISSN 0272-7714.
  5. ^ a b García, Silvia (2008-06-27). "White coral in the Avilés Canyon". Oceana Europe. Retrieved 2025-10-20.
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