Gulf of Mexico
USA /
Louisiana /
Grand Isle /
World
/ USA
/ Louisiana
/ Grand Isle
World
water, bay
The Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body of water and the largest "gulf" in the world. Considered a smaller part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is an ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. The shape of its basin is roughly oval and approximately 810 nautical miles (1,500 km) wide and filled with sedimentary rocks and debris. It is connected to the Atlantic Ocean through the Florida Straits between the U.S. and Cuba, and with the Caribbean Sea (with which it forms the American Mediterranean Sea) via the Yucatan Channel between Mexico and Cuba. Tidal ranges are extremely small due to the narrow connection with the ocean. The gulf basin is approximately 615,000 mi² (1.6 million km²). Almost half of the basin is shallow intertidal waters. At its deepest it is 14,383 ft (4,384 m) at the Sigsbee Deep, an irregular trough more than 300 nautical miles (550 km) long. It was probably formed approximately 300 million years ago as a result of the seafloor sinking.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulf_of_Mexico
Nearby cities:
Coordinates: 24°15'33"N 89°16'9"W
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- Santa Rosa Sound 711 km
- Mobile Bay 723 km
- Choctawhatchee Bay 742 km
- Middle Tampa Bay 772 km
- Tampa Bay 774 km
- Florida Bay 834 km
- Biscayne Bay 913 km
- Isla Desterrada 200 km
- Scorpion Reef 204 km
- Isla Desertora 210 km
- Isla Pérez 213 km
- Isla Pájaros 214 km
- Chicxulub Impact Crater 332 km
- Location of rare 5.8 earthquake in Gulf of Mexico on 9-10-06 356 km
- U-2513(wreck) 418 km
- Colorados Archipelago 538 km
- Peninsula de Guanahacabibes 554 km