National Marine Sanctuary: Flower Garden Banks

Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary is one of 14 federally designated underwater areas protected by NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. It is the only sanctuary site located in the Gulf of Mexico.

Situated 70 to 115 miles off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana, the Flower Garden Banks sanctuary includes underwater communities that rise from the depths of the Gulf of Mexico atop underwater mountains called salt domes.