Flower Garden National Marine Sanctuary

The Flower Garden Banks NMS is one of 14 federally designated underwater areas protected by NOAA s National Marine Sanctuary Program. Located 70 to 115 miles off the coasts of Texas and Louisiana these underwater communities rise from the depths of the Gulf of Mexico atop underwater mountains called salt domes. The sanctuary actually protects three separate areas: East Flower Garden Bank West Flower Garden Bank and Stetson Bank.