Mexico

Mexico, GULF OF, a basin of the Atlantic Ocean, is closed in by the United States on the north, by Mexico on the west and south, and its outlet on the east is narrowed by the jutting peninsulas of Yucatan and Florida, which approach within 500 miles of each other. Right in the middle of this entrance is planted the island of Cuba, dividing the strait into two—the Strait of Florida and that of Yucatan, the former connecting the gulf with the Atlantic Ocean, the latter with the Caribbean Sea. Dr John Murray calculates the area of the gulf at 716,200 sq. m. Over a fourth of this area the ocean-floor lies at a depth of between 1000 and 2000 fathoms, while 58,000 sq. m. is deeper still. The shores, however, are very shallow—as it were, the broad rim of this central cauldron; the portion less than 100 fathoms deep exceeds 400,000 sq. m. The extreme length from SW. to NE. is more than 1100 miles. Of the numerous bays, the largest is the Bay of Campeachy (Campeche). The coasts are mostly low and sandy or marshy, and are lined with numerous lagoons; the best of the few good harbours are those of New Orleans, Pensacola, and Havana. The gulf is visited from September to March by violent north-easterly gales called nortes. There are very few islands. The principal rivers it receives are the Mississippi and the Rio Grande del Norte. See GULF STREAM.