Here the reef peaks at 9 metres, gently slopes to 15 metres, then plummets vertically to 40 metres. The predominant coverings on the wall are brightly coloured patches of large jewel anemones and clumps of dead men's fingers. Sea urchins cling to the vertical face and munch their way through this carpet of life. Fish life includes goldsinney wrasse, cuckoo wrasse and ballan wrasse. At the points and corners where the current is strongest there are often shoals of pollack.
Cracks are home to crabs and lobsters.
Cuckoo wrasse can be very curious, often approaching to less than a metre away and looking straight into a diver's eyes. If you hold a hand still they may even be bold enough to peck at a finger. From Hand Deeps, several miles further to the west lies Hat Rock. This is a much smaller reef that rises mostly vertically from the seabed to a minimum depth of 20 metres. Once again the main dive site is the north face of the rock.