Gulf of Mexico
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Gulf of Mexico in 3D perspective. |
The
Gulf of Mexico is a major
body of water bordered and nearly
landlocked by
North America.
The gulf's eastern, north, and northwestern shores lie within the
United States of America (specifically, the states of
Florida,
Alabama,
Mississippi,
Louisiana, and
Texas); its southwestern and southern shores lie within
Mexico (specifically, the states of
Tamaulipas,
Veracruz,
Tabasco,
Campeche,
Yucatán, and
Quintana Roo); on the southeast it is bordered by
Cuba. It connects with the
Atlantic Ocean via the
Florida Straits between the U.S. and Cuba, and with the
Caribbean Sea via the
Yucatan Channel between Mexico and Cuba.
In the United States, the term "
Gulf Coast" usually refers to either the continuous portion of the coast running from
Cape Sable,
Florida, to
Brownsville, Texas, or from Cape Sable, Florida, to the northern tip of the
Yucatán Peninsula at
Cabo Catoche, Quintana Roo. Both meanings exclude Cuba as well as the
Florida Keys.
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Gulf of Mexico. |
The total area of the Gulf of Mexico is approximately 615,000
mi² (1.6 million km²), the southern third of which lies within the tropics, and plunges to a depth of 2,080
fathoms (3804 m). This deepest part is
Sigsbee Deep, an irregular trough more than 300
nautical miles (550 km) long, sometimes called the "
Grand Canyon under the sea." The cooler water from the deep stimulates plankton growth, which attracts small fish, shrimp, and squid.
The
Gulf Stream, a warm Atlantic Ocean current and one of the strongest
ocean currents known, originates in the gulf.
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Graph showing the overall water temperature of the Gulf between Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Although Katrina cooled waters in its path by up to 4°C, they had rebounded by the time of Rita's appearance. |
Because of the gulf's general warm temperatures, it has been visited many times by powerful Atlantic
hurricanes, some of which have caused extensive human death and other destruction (see
2005's
Hurricane Katrina, for example). In the Atlantic, a hurricane will draw up cool water from the depths and making it less likely that further hurricanes will follow in its wake (warm water being one of the preconditions necessary for their formation). However, the Gulf is shallower and its entire water column is warm. When a hurricane passes over, although the water temperature may drop it soon rebounds and becomes capable of supporting another tropical storm.
are extremely small in the Gulf of Mexico due to the narrow connection with the ocean – much like the
Mediterranean.
The
Bay of Campeche in Mexico constitutes a major arm of the Gulf of Mexico. Additionally, the gulf's shoreline is fringed by numerous bays and smaller inlets. A number of rivers empty into the gulf, most notably the
Mississippi River. The land that forms the gulf's coast, including many long, narrow barrier islands, is almost uniformly low-lying and is characterized by marshes and swamps as well as stretches of sandy beach.
The
continental shelf is quite wide at most points along the coast. The shelf is exploited for its
oil by means of offshore drilling rigs, most of which are situated in the western gulf. Another important commercial activity is fishing; major catches include red snapper, amberjack, tilefish, swordfish, and various grouper, as well as shrimp and crabs. Oysters are also harvested on a large scale from many of the bays and sounds. Other important industries along the coast include shipping, petrochemical processing and storage, paper manufacture, and tourism.
Coastal cities of note include
Tampa,
St. Petersburg,
Pensacola,
Mobile,
New Orleans,
Beaumont, and
Houston (all in the U.S.),
Tampico,
Tuxpam,
Veracruz and
Mérida (in Mexico), and
Havana (in Cuba).
The gulf's coastal areas were first settled by
Native American groups, including those representing several of the early advanced cultures of Mexico. During the period of
European exploration and colonization the entire region became a theatre of contention between the
Spanish,
French and
English. The present-day culture of the coastal region is primarily Spanish-American (Mexico, Cuba) and Anglo-American (U.S.).
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Fishing boats in Biloxi |
A point of interest about the Gulf is that 65 million years ago, the
Chicxulub crater was formed when a large meteorite hit the earth. It is hypothesized that this impact was the
asteroid that caused the extinction of the non-avian
dinosaurs.
Because of the ever increasing amount of
nitrogen and
phosphates dissolved in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, pollution has more than doubled since 1950. Current estimates suggest that three times as much nitrogen is being carried into the Gulf today compared with levels 30 years ago or at any time in history. Blooms of photosynthesizers die and sink, and the processes of their decay exhausts the available supplies of oxygen dissolved in the water. Every summer there is now an area south of the Louisiana coastline, larger than the
U.S. state of
Massachusetts at over 7,000 mi² (18,000 km²) that is
hypoxic. These waters do not carry enough oxygen to sustain marine life. This annually enlarging
dead zone is a major threat to the fishing industry and to public health.
Also, there are frequent "
red tide" algae blooms that kill fish and marine mammals and cause respiratory problems in humans and some domestic animals when the blooms reach close to shore. This has especially been plaguing the southwest Florida coast, from the
Florida Keys to north of
Pasco County, Florida.
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Gulf Coast of the United States*
Gulf Coast of Mexico*
EPA factsheet on hypoxia*
Gulf of Mexico hypoxia}}}
