Neptune's Needle

Arm of the Atlantic Ocean (area; c.700,000 sq miles), SE N. Amer. The Gulf stretches more than 1,100 miles from W to E and c.800 miles 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, 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; Tampico and Veracruz, Mexico.

Sources

Compiler

Peter Richards