Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is referred to as ocean basin and marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean is mostly bordered by the North American continent. In the north and northwest, it is bordered by the Gulf Coast of the United States; in the southwest and south, by the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan, and Quintana Roo; and in the southeast, it is bordered by Cuba. To distinguish them from the other states on the United States "Third Coast," which is the region bordering the Gulf on the north, the states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida are referred to together as the "Third Coast" (in addition to its Atlantic and Pacific coasts).

Plate tectonics, which caused the formation of the Gulf of Mexico roughly 300 million years ago, was responsible for its formation. Around 810 nautical miles (1,500 km; 930 mi) broad, the Gulf of Mexico basin has a roughly oval shape and is approximately 1,500 kilometres (930 km) in length. Sedimentary rocks and recent sediments make up the majority of the floor of the cave. This region is linked to the a portion of the Atlantic via the Florida Straits here between United States and Cuba, and to the Caribbean Sea through the Yucatán Channel between Mexico and Cuba. It is also connected to the Pacific Ocean through the Gulf of Mexico. Tides in the Gulf of Mexico are quite tiny because of its limited link to the Atlantic Ocean. About 1.6 million kilometres squared (km2) is the size of the Gulf basin (615,000 sq mi). Deep continental shelf seas make up over half of the basin's surface area. It is estimated that the basin has 2.4106 cubic kilometres (5.8105 cubic miles) of water. The Gulf of Mexico is one of the world's most significant offshore petroleum-producing zones, accounting for one-sixth of the United States' total oil and gas output in 2010.