Underlying salt domes forced the seafloor upward in various areas of the Gulf of Mexico, resulting in the formation of seamounts and ocean banks.

Conditions of the Gulf of Mexico were conducive to reef-building, which started roughly ten to fifteen thousand years ago.

Researchers record conditions and detect early warning signs consisting of different impacts of climate change and possible environmental crime.

The Foundation also funds economic impact studies on commercial and recreational activity in the area to understand use and inform protection planning and potential expansion.

These initial surveys, along with others conducted in the 1950s, led researchers to conclude that the banks originated when salt domes forced overlaying sediments upward to form seamounts.

A series of scientific scuba diving expeditions, however, revealed that EFGB and WFGB did indeed support extensive coral reef systems.

The Houston Underwater Club led a movement to have the banks officially designated as sanctuaries by submitting a formal letter of nomination in 1979.

[4] On January 19, 2021, NOAA issued the Final Instruction for expansion of Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary.

These areas include critical habitat for recreationally and commercially important fish, as well as threatened or endangered species of manta rays, sea turtles, and corals in the Gulf of Mexico.

Flower Garden Banks and areas near the sanctuary are one of only two places in the world where the golden phase of the smooth trunkfish can be found, the other being near the Bay Islands north of Honduras.