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Place Name
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Mexico, Gulf of
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Place Status (Type)
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gulf
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Location
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Florida, United States, North America
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Latitude
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unknown
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Longitude
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unknown
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Mexico, Gulf of
, arm of the Atlantic Ocean (
c.700,000 sq mi/1,813,000 sq km),
SE N. Amer. The Gulf stretches more than
1,100 mi/1,770 km from W to E and
c.800 mi/1,287 km from N to S. It is bordered
by the Gulf coast of the U.S. from Fla. to Texas, and the E coast of
Mexico from Tamaulipas to Yucatan. Near the entrance of the Gulf
is the isl. of Cuba. On the N side of Cuba the Gulf is connected with
the Atlantic Ocean by the Straits of Florida (from which the Gulf
Stream ocean current originates); on the S side of Cuba it is connected
with the Caribbean Sea by the Yucatan Channel. The Bay of
Campeche (Bahia de Campeche), Mexico, and Apalachee Bay,
Florida, are the Gulf's largest arms. Sigsbee Deep
(12,714 ft/3,875 m), the deepest part of the
Gulf, lies off the Mex. coast. The shoreline is generally
low, sandy, and marshy, with many lagoons. Chief of the many rivers
entering the Gulf are the Mississippi, Alabama (AL), Brazos, and Rio Grande.
The U.S. Intracoastal Waterway follows the Gulf's coastline from S
Fla. to the Rio Grande. Oil deposits from the continental shelf are
tapped by offshore wells, esp. along the coast of Texas and
La. Most of the U.S. shrimp catch comes from the Gulf Coast;
menhaden is another important catch. The chief ports along the Gulf of
Mexico are at Tampa and Pensacola, Fla.; Mobile, Ala.; New Orleans;
Galveston and Corpus Christi, Texas (TX); Tampico and Veracruz, Mexico.
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