Gulf of Mexico

The **Gulf of Mexico** is an ocean basin or bay of the Atlantic Ocean that is a marginal sea of North America. The United States, Mexico, and Cuba are the countries around it.

The Straits of Florida connect the Gulf to the rest of the Atlantic Ocean, and the Yucatán Channel connects it to the Caribbean Sea. Because of its narrow connection to the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf has very small tides.

The Gulf's basin is about 1.6 million square kilometers (615,000 square miles) large. Almost half of the basin is shallow continental shelf waters. The climate is tropical, with heavy growth of plankton and sea grass.

Petroleum is found near the north and the western coast of this gulf. Many hurricanes hit the area; for example, in 2005 Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita hurt many of the oil wells in the United States in 2005. The Gulf is one of the most important offshore petroleum-production regions in the world, making one sixth of the United States' total production. There is also a large fishing industry in the Gulf.

The Gulf was formed by plate tectonics about 300 million years ago.

## Gulf of America

On January 20, 2025, United States President Donald Trump signed an executive order that told United States executive branch federal agencies to use "Gulf of America" instead of "Gulf of Mexico". The order said that this would happen to the northernmost part of the Gulf within U.S. boundaries and would be changed in federal documents. This change was done on January 24, 2025. The order is not binding on any other part of, or outside, the federal government. Other countries bordering the Gulf, including Mexico and Cuba, have said they will continue to use the "Gulf of Mexico" name. Google Maps, Apple Maps, and Bing Maps have chosen to vary the name displayed for the Gulf based on user location. People in the United States see "Gulf of America"; people in Mexico see "Gulf of Mexico"; and, in all other countries, "Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)".

On January 23, 2025, the Associated Press (AP), a major news organization, announced that its reports would use "Gulf of Mexico" and note Trump's decision to call it the "Gulf of America". On February 11, 2025, the White House started to block AP reporters from the Oval Office and Air Force One because the AP did not fully adopt "Gulf of America". Most other major news websites and organizations also continue to use "Gulf of Mexico", as they follow AP guidance. Some Republican-leaning news outlets, such as Fox News, use "Gulf of America" instead. _Axios_ and _USA Today_ use both names for the gulf together. Some broadcast weather reporters have opted to call it simply "the Gulf".

## Other websites

- Resource Database for Gulf of Mexico Research

## Infobox (body of water)

- **name**: Gulf of Mexico
- **image bathymetry**: Gulf_of_Mexico_ETOPO_2022_(labeled).png
- **caption bathymetry**: Bathymetry (depth of seafloor) of the Gulf of Mexico
- **location**: American Mediterranean Sea
- **rivers**: Rio Grande, Mississippi River, Mobile River, Panuco River, Jamapa River, Pascagoula River, Tecolutla River, Usumacinta River, Apalachicola River
- **oceans**: Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea
- **settlements**: Veracruz (city), Veracruz, Houston, New Orleans, Corpus Christi, Texas, Corpus Christi, Tampa, Havana, Southwest Florida, Mobile, Alabama, Mobile, Gulfport, Mississippi, Gulfport, Tampico, Key West, Cancún, Ciudad del Carmen, Coatzacoalcos, Panama City, Florida, Panama City
- **other name**: _Golfo de México_