Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary

Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary

:"Flower Gardens" redirects here: there is also an article on actual flower gardens."

The Flower Garden Banks (often simply the "Flower Gardens") is a U.S. National Marine Sanctuary in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, located roughly 105 miles (170 km) south of Sabine Pass, Texas.

The formation of offshore salt domes in the warm waters of the Gulf provided a colonization site for coral, which arrived and began reef-building roughly ten to fifteen thousand years ago.

Two reefs, East Flower Garden Bank and West Flower Garden Bank, were part of the National Marine Sanctuary when it was created in 1992. In 1996, the smaller nearby Stetson Bank was added to the sanctuary.

Typical for coral reefs, the Flower Garden Banks contain a large number of aquatic species. Almost three hundred species of fish, twenty-one species of coral, several species of crustaceans, four dominant species of sponges, and a wide variety of sharks, skates, and rays. The Loggerhead Sea Turtle is resident. Several resident whale sharks turn in frequent appearances.

External links

* [http://flowergarden.noaa.gov/ Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary]
* [http://www.gulfbase.org/reef/view.php?rid=fgb1 Gulfbase.org - Flower Garden Banks]
* [http://www.liquidtravel.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=33&Itemid=35 Diving the Gardens] - a personal account of a diving expedition to the Flower Garden Banks


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • United States National Marine Sanctuary — A U.S. National Marine Sanctuary is a federally designated area within United States waters that protects areas of the marine environment with special conservation, recreational, ecological, historical, cultural, archeological, scientific,… …   Wikipedia

  • Delta National Wildlife Refuge — IUCN Category IV (Habitat/Species Management Area) …   Wikipedia

  • Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve — IUCN Category V (Protected Landscape/Seascape) …   Wikipedia

  • New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park — U.S. National Register of Historic Places …   Wikipedia

  • Mandalay National Wildlife Refuge — Coordinates: 29°31′30″N 90°48′15″W / 29.525°N 90.80417°W / 29.525; 90.80417 …   Wikipedia

  • D'Arbonne National Wildlife Refuge — D Arbonne National Wildlife Refugee IUCN Category IV (Habitat/Species Management Area) …   Wikipedia

  • Ciguatera — fish poisoning Classification and external resources Chemical structure of the ciguatoxin CTX1B ICD 10 T …   Wikipedia

  • Marksville Prehistoric Indian Site — U.S. National Register of Historic Places U.S. National Historic Landmark …   Wikipedia

  • Creole Nature Trail — Length 180 miles (290 km) Location Louisiana, United States The Creole Nature Trail, part of Louisiana s Outback, is an All American Road comprising more than 180 miles (290 km) of highway including portions of Louisiana state highways… …   Wikipedia

  • Murphy J. Foster, Jr. — This article is about the former Governor of Louisiana. For other people named Mike Foster, see Michael Foster (disambiguation). Murphy J. Foster, Jr. Governor Mike Foster at a meeting 53rd Governor of Louisiana …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”