how deep is the gulf of mexico in miles

The average depth of the Gulf of Mexico is 5,299 feet (1,615 meters) and the maximum depth is estimated to be 14,383 feet (4,384 meters). To its north, northeast, and northwest, the Gulf of Mexico is bordered by the Gulf Coast of the United States (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida). The evaporation and filling of saltwater in the basin over the millennia created deposits and mounds that today appear as cliffs bordering Sigsbee Deep. These include Kemps ridley, loggerhead, green turtle, leatherback, and hawksbill. Where Is the Gulf of Mexico? 11 Facts You Should Know - PrepScholar To the north of the Gulf of Mexico are the US states of Alabama, Texas, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Gulf of Mexico | gulf, North America | Britannica The Gulf is about 1,000 miles wide, as much as 14,000 feet deep, and receives runoff from vast areas of the continent. Click on a 1 degree by 1 degree square for access to low and high resolution images. below the gulf's surface, with a circumference of 100 feet (30 m) and 12 feet (3.7 m) feet deep, which is four to five times saltier than the rest of the water. The Gulf of Mexico is home to more than 750 known shipwrecks, ranging from modern wrecks all the way back to the 16thcentury. How did this mountain lion reach an uninhabited island? Still, there are, 30A's Ultimate Guide to The Florida Panhandle Shipwreck. Public domain image from the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Padre Island has its origins in the Gulf of Mexico. How deep is the Gulf of Mexico? Endangered marine species such as sperm whales and West Indian manatees are found in the gulf along with nearly 50 shark species like tiger and bull sharks. The average depth of the Gulf is roughly 5,200 feet, but other parts of the Gulf of Mexico are surprisingly deep. Forensic analysis of the BOP completed the following year determined that a set of massive blades known as blind shear ramsdesigned to slice through the pipe carrying oilhad malfunctioned because the pipe had bent under the pressure of the rising gas and oil. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/apr/23/nation/la-na-oil-rig-20100423, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/29/us/29spill.html, http://www.epa.gov/gmpo/about/facts.html#resources, M.A., Geography, California State University - East Bay, B.A., English and Geography, California State University - Sacramento, Fausset, Richard. Copyright 1996-2015 National Geographic SocietyCopyright 2015-2023 National Geographic Partners, LLC. The Gulf of Mexico is a large oval-shaped oceanic basin, that is located on the southeastern coast of North America and is bounded by the US states of Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, and Florida to the north, northeast and northwest; by the Mexican states of Campeche, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Veracruz and Yucatan to the south and southwest; and by the island of Cuba to the southeast. Why wetlands are so critical for life on Earth, Rest in compost? The first European exploration of the Gulf of Mexico occurred in 1497 when Amerigo Vespucci sailed along Central America and entered the Atlantic Ocean through the Gulf of Mexico and the Straits of Florida (the strip of water between present-day Florida and Cuba). Now that's deep! Population along the Gulf coast exploded in the 1950s, and the rising number of people living along the Gulf resulted in increased pollution problems. The Gulf of Mexico is a large ocean basin near the Southeastern United States. See how other students and parents are navigating high school, college, and the college admissions process. How Deep Is Gulf Of Mexico ? [2023] - blogdigger.com Copyright 2023 Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism. Click to place marker 2. key transcendentalist beliefs, an overview of the movement's history, and key players. He was a research editor with Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. from 2008 to 2016 and worked on Britannica Blog from 2010 Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. The Gulf of Mexico, located between Florida and Yucatan peninsulas, is a great place to vacation, live, and work. Black coral that grows in the Gulf of Mexico is thought to be one of the oldest living organisms on Earth. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. The Gulfs basin is unusually flat, with a gradient of only about 1 foot per every 8,000 feet. Ukraine Russia War Crisis: Everything You Wanted to Know. The Bay of Campeche (Veracruz), 6. Maybe youre aware that its located along the Gulf coast but dont know the exact boundaries, or maybe youre trying to figure out if its part of the Atlantic Ocean or not. The Brydes whale has recently been declared as an endemic species. Some 1,680 miles of the US coastline and 1,743 miles of the Mexican coastline borders the Gulf of Mexico. Most areas incurred over 40 inches of rain within a 4-day period, in contrast, Nederland, Texas saw an astonishing 60 inches of rainfall! The dead zones are incapable of supporting aquatic flora and fauna. "By clicking OK or by using this Website, you consent to the use of cookies. Watch These Elk Ramming Cars at Yellowstone,, Rare Footage Shows How Killer Whale Packs, Watch a Lioness Save Her Zookeeper When the Male Lion Attacks Him Point-Blank, Watch These Elk Ramming Cars at Yellowstone, and Showing Their True Size, A Clash of Two Lion Prides Ends When This Monster Shows Up, Watch a Gargantuan Komodo Dragon Effortlessly Swallow a Wild Boar in One Gulp, The Largest Great White Sharks Ever Found Off Florida Waters, See Dominator The Largest Crocodile In The World, And As Big As A Rhino, Watch This Huge Komodo Dragon Flex Its Power and Swallow a Shark Whole, Real Life Jaws Spotted 30ft Great White Shark By Boat, The Gulf of Mexico was a trade route dating back to the. Bacteria that had adapted to consuming naturally occurring gas and oil seeping from the seabed were thought to have consumed a portion of it. How many miles does the Gulf of Mexico cover? - Wise-Answers Hurricane Harvey in 2017 made land shore as a Category 4 hurricane that caused historic flooding and left Houston and Southeast Texas devastated. The Gulf of Mexico is a highly biodiverse area and features many coastal wetlands and mangrove forests. Some of the notable species include Blacktip shark, Bonnethead shark, Bull shark, Great hammerhead shark, Lemon shark, Nurse shark, and Sand Tiger Shark. You may commission us to create customized maps, infographics and stories as well. The defective BOP and the capping stack were removed in early September and replaced by a functioning BOP. and southward under the influence of eddies typical of the deep Gulf of Mexico (Androulidakis et al., 2018). Natural gas is also extracted. Fish caught in the Gulf of Mexico make up about of the total catch in the US. Though the leak had slowed, it was estimated by a government-commissioned panel of scientists that 4,900,000 barrels of oil had already leaked into the gulf. Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico Lines of underwater microphones pulled along the surface behind the ship record how long it takes the reflected waves to reach them, data that can then be translated into topography. Geography of the Gulf of Mexico. An important feature of the Gulf of Mexico is the Gulf Stream, which is a warm Atlantic current that begins in the region and flows north into the Atlantic Ocean. They found the Gulf is home to 2,000 year-old deep-sea black corals, many of which are only a few feet tall. Nearly half of the basin is compromised of shallow continental-shelf waters and due to the separation from the Atlantic Ocean, there are minimal tidal ranges. The Annual John L. Borom Alabama Coastal Birdfest is a fantastic opportunity to witness these birds in action. The First European Settlement Was at Pensacola Bay, Over 60 Million Americans Live Along the Gulf. It is estimated that around 10,000 bottlenose dolphins live in the coastal waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Your personal data will be governed by Mapsofworld, When Did Alaska Become Part of the United States. Eco-friendly burial alternatives, explained. Claims by several research groups that subsurface plumes of dispersed hydrocarbons had been detected in May were initially dismissed by BP and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Where Is the Gulf of Mexico? The climate of the Gulf of Mexico region varies from tropical to subtropical type. 7. The explosion A Deep Dive into the United States First Underwater Museum, This article appears in the inaugural issue of 30AsBeach HappyMagazine. The Gulf has a total area of approximately 1,680,000 square kilometers (650,000 square miles) and a maximum depth of approximately 7,020 meters (23,000 ft). Corrections? Who owned the rig responsible for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill? The lake gets its foreboding name because of how salty the water is and how most things dont survive it. ThoughtCo. These are not coastal dead zones, like the one that sprawls across the Gulf of Mexico, but great swaths of deep water that can reach thousands of miles offshore. Oceans, the largest bodies of water in the world, have no exact boundaries, and they are bordered by seas (the Caribbean Sea separates the Gulf of Mexico from the Atlantic Ocean). In this guide, we explain exactly where the Gulf of Mexico is and what its boundaries are, and we include a Gulf of Mexico map so you can see a visual of it. Northern GoM Deepwater Bathymetry Grid from 3D Seismic The deepest part of the Gulf of Mexico, Sigsbee Deep, is estimated to be around 14,383 feet deep while the average depth is around 5,300 feet. Gulfs are formed as a result of plate tectonics and are usually larger and more deeply indented than the bays. Without any opposing force, oil began to discharge into the gulf. Both oceans and gulfs are large bodies of saltwater, but gulfs are smaller and are bordered on three sides by land. This has led to the creation of dead zones in the Gulf Region, which runs east-west for over 22,730 km2 along the coasts of Louisiana and Texas. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. 2,000 Year-old Deep-sea Black Corals call Gulf of Mexico Home The Alabama Gulf Coast boasts the largest artificial reef program in the nation, with 1,136 square miles of artificial reefs located at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. The success of these procedures cleared the way for a bottom kill, considered to be the most likely means of permanently sealing the leak. . The deepest point is in the Mexico Basin (Sigsbee Deep), which is 17,070 feet (5,203 metres) below sea level. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). These hurricanes are either formed or make their way into the Gulf and eventually make landfall in the areas surrounding the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf of Mexico covers roughly 615,000 mi (1.6 million km) and is about 930 miles (1,500 km) wide. [3] The Sigsbee Abyssal Plain is the deepest and flattest sector of the deep basin.[1]. There are 4,000 drilling platforms there. Researchers recently announced that this year the excess fertilizer from farm fields carried to the Gulf of Mexico helped in the development of a low-oxygen, "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico that covered an area of 6,952 square miles - the 8th largest ever measured! Do You Know the Different Regions of the US? The Overwater Argument. Can we bring a species back from the brink? https://www.thoughtco.com/geography-of-the-gulf-of-mexico-1435544 (accessed March 4, 2023). Efforts to protect and conserve the thriving ecosystem found here are a serious priority as continuous ecological discoveries are being made and new species are being discovered. The Gulf of Mexico is the largest gulf in the world, as well as the worlds 9th largest body of water. A study showed that up to 800,000 birds were thought to have died. With time, the Gulf of Mexico became an excellent avenue for trade. 1. The Gulf of Mexico is an inlet connecting Mexico and the United States to the ocean and is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean. It is widely believed, that the impact that led to the creation of this crater had triggered a series of catastrophic events, which ultimately led to the mass extinction at the end of the Cretaceous Period. These four industries produce nearly $234 billion annually. Have some feedback for us? The biota of the Gulf includes different chemosynthetic and non-chemosynthetic organisms ranging from microorganisms like benthos, meiofauna to other macro-organisms like crabs, sea pens, crinoids, and other marine fauna. With that success, they realized they could map the whole Gulf of Mexico the same way.