BAY AREA DIVERS
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 www.bayareadivers.org



Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary

 

http://www.flowergarden.nos.noaa.gov/     http://www.gulf-diving.com

 

 

Picture yourself over 100 miles from land, in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. At times, the seas can be very unforgiving, and the weather can turn foul in an instant. But here, in the midst of this unpredictable Gulf, lie three of the most beautiful and wild places in all the world. Manta rays, whale sharks, coral heads bigger than cars, hundreds of species of fish and invertebrates... This place teems with life!

 

CHALLENGES OF DIVING

The Flower Garden and Stetson Banks are considered, by most dive professionals, to be an intermediate to advanced dive. While conditions can be calm and suitable for beginners, those occasions are extremely rare and totally unpredictable. More typically, you will experience multiple currents, running in different directions and speeds at different depths. Currents may develop or disappear in the middle of your dive. Or, they may change direction and/or speed during your dive, requiring you to swim against a current to return to your exit point. Wave height and frequency are also quite variable and can make it difficult to reboard the boat safely. Previous salt water experience is strongly recommended before diving in the sanctuary. One hundred miles of water lies between you and the nearest medical facility. This is not the place to overestimate your abilities and physical condition.


FLOWER GARDEN BANKS BOUNDARIES (NAD83)

The maps shown on this page were created using high-resolution multi-beam bathymetry data manipulated with GIS (Geographic Information System) software. In addition to illustrating the relative depths and slope of the banks, the images show the sanctuary boundaries and locations of the mooring buoys. The bright red portions of the banks are generally within recreational dive limits These areas are typically referred to by scientists as the reef cap. For larger views of the maps, click on each image.
 

 

East Flower Garden Bank

Position Latitude Longitude Map of East Flower Garden Bank with various depth ranges, from 18 to 130 meters, represented by different colors. Sanctuary boundary is depicted as a pale blue line around the bank and locations of mooring buoys as white dots. It is apparent in the map that the reef cap constitutes only a small portion of the entire bank. The cap is located in the southeast quadrant, near the center of the map. To the right of the cap, a large circluar 'sunken' area is seen. This is where part of the bank has subsided over the centuries, probably because much of the supporting salt has seeped out from below the bank through natural fissures.

click here for larger image
E-1
E-2
E-3
E-4
E-5
E-6
E-7
E-8
E-9
E-10
E-11		 27°52'54.84"
27°53'35.80"
27°55'14.61"
27°57'31.68"
27°58'28.63"
27°59'02.38"
27°59'01.47"
27°55'23.35"
27°54'05.02"
27°53'27.68"
27°52'53.04"		 93°37'41.84"
93°38'23.90"
93°38'40.89"
93°38'33.81"
93°37'46.67"
93°35'32.29"
93°35'10.23"
93°34'15.32"
93°34'19.42"
93°35'05.54"
93°36'57.77"

MOORING BUOY COORDINATES

NOTES:
1. Buoys are periodically removed one or two at a time for maintenance.
2. Use of mooring buoys is on a first come basis. Please review recommendations in Reef Etiquette.
East Flower Garden Bank

Position Latitude Longitude
1 27°54'35.9" N 93°35'49.7" W
2 27°54'31.9" N 93°35'49.0" W
3 27°54'27.0" N 93°35'57.4" W
4 27°54'33.0" N 93°35'59.7" W
5 27°54'38.7" N 93°36'00.5" W
6 27°54'39.9" N 93°35'55.6" W
7 27°54'32.8" N 93°35'55.1" W

 

 

West Flower Garden Bank

Position Latitude Longitude Map of West Flower Garden Bank with various depth ranges, from 16 to 160 meters, represented by different colors. Sanctuary boundary is depicted as a white line and locations of mooring buoys as white dots. The reef cap is shown in red and constitutes only a small portion of the entire bank. The cap is located almost in the center o fthe map. A series of trenches or shallow canyons are visible to the north and west of the reef cap.

click here for larger image
W-1
W-2
W-3
W-4
W-5
W-6
W-7
W-8
W-9
W-10
W-11
W-12
W-13		 27°49'11.14"
27°50'13.34"
27°51'13.81"
27°51'33.39"
27°52'50.86"
27°55'01.91"
27°54'59.30"
27°54'36.23"
27°54'15.78"
27°53'36.61"
27°52'58.32"
27°50'41.24"
27°49'11.88"		 93°50'45.83"
93°52'11.04"
93°52'52.20"
93°52'51.24"
93°52'25.34"
93°49'44.25"
93°48'38.11"
93°47'10.91"
93°46'49.85"
93°46'51.82"
93°47'15.82"
93°47'22.70"
93°48'43.28"

MOORING BUOY COORDINATES

NOTES:
1. Buoys are periodically removed one or two at a time for maintenance.
2. Use of mooring buoys is on a first come basis. Please review recommendations in Reef Etiquette.

West Flower Garden Bank

Position Latitude Longitude
1 27°52'35.1" N 93°48'54.1" W
2 27°52'31.3" N 93°48'51.3" W
3 27°52'27.5" N 93°49'00.4" W
4 27°52'29.4" N 93°49'04.1" W
5 27°52'30.6" N 93°48'54.1" W

 

 

Stetson Bank

Position Latitude Longitude

click here for larger image
S-1
S-2
S-3
S-4		 28°09'31.03"
28°10'10.20"
28°10'07.84"
28°09'28.66"		 94°18'31.98"
94°18'30.21"
94°17'23.90"
94°17'25.68"

MOORING BUOY COORDINATES

NOTES:
1. Buoys are periodically removed one or two at a time for maintenance.
2. Use of mooring buoys is on a first come basis. Please review recommendations in Reef Etiquette.

Stetson Bank

Position Latitude Longitude
1 28°09'57.4" N 94°17'51.5" W
2 28°09'59.1" N 94°17'50.5" W
3 28°09'59.2" N 94°17'47.5" W
4 28°09'52.8" N 94°17'52.8" W
5 28°09'55.2" N 94°17'45.0" W

 

 

 

 

 
 

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