What Bodies of Water Surround Florida? | USA Today What Bodies of Water Surround Florida? The Atlantic Ocean provides the eastern border of Florida. (Photo: Jupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images ) Florida Landforms & Natural Attractions More than 82 million visitors visited Florida in 2010. While many came to visit some of Florida's amusement parks, certainly many of these visitors also spent time on the beaches next to the bodies of water that surround the state. The bodies of water -- the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Straits of Florida -- account for nearly 1,200 miles of coastline around the state. Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean technically covers the full coastline of Florida, although the western and southern coastlines are generally referred to as bordering the Gulf of Mexico and Straits of Florida. The Atlantic is the second-largest of the five oceans on the earth (the Pacific Ocean is larger). In all, the Atlantic Ocean covers more than 47 million square miles and is more than six times larger than the United States. Florida features several popular destinations along the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean, including Daytona Beach and Fort Lauderdale.

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico is part of the Atlantic Ocean, but specifically is the section of the ocean that borders the east coast of Mexico, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas. Sarasota and Naples are two popular destinations that border the Gulf of Mexico. Fishing is an important industry in the Gulf of Mexico. According to 2008 National Marine Fisheries Service report, the commercial and shellfish harvested from the Gulf states equaled 1.3 billion lbs. and $661 million. Straits of Florida The Straits of Florida are also known as the Gulf of Florida or as the Straits of Bahama. This section of water is also a part of the Atlantic Ocean, but is found just east of the Gulf of Mexico at the southernmost portion of Florida. The Straits of Florida separate Florida from Cuba, which is only 90 miles south of Key West. The strait extends more than 300 miles down into the Bahamas. Bodies of Water Inside the State Residents and visitors can also find several significant bodies of water inside of the state. Florida features more than 11,000 miles of rivers and other water masses, including the Everglades.

Florida is also home to the second-largest freshwater lake in the United States -- Lake Okeechobee, which covers 700 square miles. The state's largest river, the St. John's River, is more than 273 miles long. References What states border the Atlantic Ocean? | Reference.com What states border the Atlantic Ocean? A: Quick Answer The states in the U.S. that border the Atlantic Ocean include Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland and Massachusetts. In addition, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia also border the Atlantic Ocean. Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama border a part of the Atlantic Ocean known as the Gulf of Mexico. Full Answer The states that directly border the Atlantic Ocean have a combined coastline of 2,069 miles. The states that border the Gulf of Mexico have a total coastline length of 1,631 miles. States bordering the Atlantic Ocean are typically known as East Coast states. The northernmost of these states is Maine, and the southernmost state is Florida.

Important cities that lie along the Atlantic Ocean coastline include Boston, New York City, Atlantic City, Ocean City, Virginia Beach, Kitty Hawk, Wilmington, Charleston, Savannah, Daytona Beack, West Palm Beach, Miami and Key West. Geographical features along the coastline include Cape Hatteras, Cape May, Myrtle Beach, Roanoke Island, the barrier islands and the Chesapeake Bay. The I-95 corridor runs down the Atlantic coastline from New York to Florida. The earliest U.S. colony, Jamestown, Virginia, was located along the Atlantic Ocean coastline, which was settled by colonists who crossed the Atlantic from Europe. Gulf of Mexico Facts Gulf of Mexico Facts The total area of the Gulf is about 600,000 square miles. The greatest distance across the Gulf is approximately 1,000 miles going east to west. The shortest distance across the Gulf is about 500 miles between the Mississippi Delta and the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula. The United States and Mexico form the Gulf’s mainland shore, which extends more than 4,000 miles from the Florida Keys to Cabo Catoche, at the northwestern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico.

Like the Mediterranean Sea, the Gulf is a semi-enclosed, partially land-locked, intercontinental, marginal sea. At a depth of more than 12,000 feet, Sigsbee Deep is the deepest part of the gulf. It is more than 300 miles long and is sometimes called the “Grand Canyon under the sea.” Its closest point to the Texas coast is 200 miles southeast of Brownsville. The Gulf’s geologic origin remains uncertain. Proposed theories speculate that it is: a foundered and ocean-flooded continental crust; an ocean basin that has been subjected to rifting; or an ancient sea that has existed since the various continents formed a single land mass. The Gulf of Mexico links the ports of five southern U.S states (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas) and six Mexican states (Tamaulipas, Vera Cruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo) with the Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. The Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary contains the northernmost tropical coral reefs in the U.S.

60% of the continental United States drains into the Gulf of Mexico, including outlets from 33 major river systems and 207 estuaries. Additional freshwater inputs originate in Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, and Cuba. The Gulf’s coastal wetlands encompass over five million acres (about half of the U.S. total), serving as an essential habitat for 75 percent of migratory waterfowl traversing the United States, numerous fish and other wildlife species. Population The US Gulf coastal population rose 150% between 1960 and 2008. It is projected to rise nearly 40% from 1995 to 2025. Environmental Concerns Re-engineering the Mississippi River has unintentionally reduced the flow of land-building sediment to the Gulf coast by half and sends much of that past the wetlands to deep water. Diversion projects could reverse the decline of coastal wetlands by making use of what we have left. It is estimated that 50 percent of the Gulf of Mexico’s inland and coastal wetlands have been lost and that up to 80% of the Gulf’s sea grasses have been lost in some areas.

The Gulf of Mexico is home to 24 endangered and threatened species and critical habitats. Relative sea level rise along most of the Gulf coast has been substantially higher than the global average due to local land subsidence combined with the increasing volume of water in the sea. Padre Island has been inundated by as much as one ton of debris per mile. GULF OF MEXICO | The Handbook of Texas Online| Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) Texas State Historical Association (TSHA) Site GULF OF MEXICO GULF OF MEXICO. For 624 miles, from the Rio Grande delta to Sabine Pass , the Gulf of Mexico washes the Texas shore. This partially landlocked body of water, an indentation in the southeastern coast of North America, served as an avenue for discovery, exploration, and settlement of the southern and western sectors of what is now the United States as well as Mexico: the initial approach to the mainland continent. It brought the Spanish conquerors to Mexico and Texas, French colonists to Louisiana, and, somewhat later, settlers of numerous other nationalities to the republic and state of Texas. Today, the Gulf serves a vital commerce.

It links the ports of five southern states and Mexico with the larger ocean and forms the basis of the various Marine Resources of Texas, which include navigation, recreation, oil and gas, commercial fisheries, oysters, and shell. The Gulf is open to the Atlantic Ocean through the Straits of Florida and to the Caribbean Sea through the Yucatán Channel. These passages, approximately 100 and 125 miles wide respectively, lie on either side of the island of Cuba, which extends into the Gulf's mouth "like a loose-fitting bottle cork." The United States and Mexico form the Gulf's mainland shore, which extends more than 4,000 miles from the Florida Keys to Cabo Catoche, the northwestern promontory of the Yucatán Peninsula. Sharing the Gulf coast are Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, as well as the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Vera Cruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo. The Gulf's waters cover 500,000 square miles and plunge to a depth of 2,080 fathoms (more than 12,000 feet).

This deepest part is Sigsbee Deep, an irregular trough more than 300 miles long, sometimes called the "Grand Canyon under the sea." Its closest point to the Texas coast is some 200 miles southeast of Brownsville. The cooler water from the deep stimulates plankton growth, which attracts small fish, shrimp, and squid. These and other sealife that feeds on plankton attract larger fish to make this a prime fishing ground. Biologists have counted more than 300 fish species off the Texas shore. Drainage of some 1,250,000 square miles is brought to the Gulf by the various rivers that discharge into it. Its water volume is calculated as 559,000 cubic miles. Through the Gulf courses the Caribbean Current, which enters from the Caribbean Sea through the Yucatán Channel and makes a circuit of the Gulf. The dominant feature of a complex system of currents in the Gulf, it flows out through the Straits of Florida and the Bahama Channel, where it joins the Antilles Current to form the Gulf Stream. As early as 1519, Spanish navigators recognized this flow as an aid to navigation into and out of the Gulf.

The current, in combination with the prevailing wind, determined the course of the Spanish fleets, aiding them on their entire round-trip voyage from Europe. Ships entered the Gulf through the Yucatán Channel and rode the prevailing wind and current westward to the port of Veracruz. These forces, changing directions against the Mexican coast, favored ships returning to Spain by carrying them north and east into the Straits of Florida and the Bahama Channel. Not all aspects of the intricate system of currents are understood, even today; it is still the object of scientific study. Tides—ocean waters' response to gravitational pull by the moon and the sun—help to keep the waters in motion. The Gulf of Mexico, under ordinary conditions, has tides of two feet or less, but on the wide and shallow shelf such a variation is quite noticeable. The Gulf's geologic origin remains uncertain. Various theories pose that it is a foundered and ocean-flooded continental crust, an ocean basin that has been subjected to rifting, or an ancient sea that has existed since the various continents formed a single land mass. Scientific drilling of the sea floor had not been able by 1994 to provide a complete answer.

The long-term international Ocean Drilling Program, headquartered at Texas A&M University, seeks solutions to such riddles of oceanic geology by taking cores from ocean bottoms. It also gathers information on the origin and evolution of life in the sea, the shifting of the earth's continental plates, and other data pertinent to the Gulf, as well as the world's oceans at large. The Texas shoreline is characterized by seven barrier islands: Galveston, Follet's, Matagorda, St. Joseph's (San José) , Mustang, Padre, and Brazosqv. Padre Island is the longest barrier island in the world. These islands, formed 5,000 to 8,000 years ago, are the survivors of several sets of barriers that have existed along the northwestern Gulf Coast during the last million years, formed and destroyed by fluctuating sea level (usually related to glaciation) and the resultant shoreline alteration. During the four major glacial periods that covered North America with ice, the sea level was lowered by some 100 meters, exposing the continental shelf. Consequently, rivers emptying into the Gulf deepened their channels and carried sediment seaward.

In the warmer interglacial periods, when the sea level rose, estuarine sediments and fossils were left on the shelf. Corral reefs, known to fishermen as "snapper banks," were formed from hard shale forced up by salt domes. These banks are found in the northwestern Gulf west of 91° west longitude. The Flower Garden Banks, the northernmost coral reefs on the North American continental shelf, lie about 110 miles southeast of Galveston. More than fifty feet under the surface, "flowers"—actually, brightly colored corals and other marine animals and plants that attract both sport divers and scientists—blossom in brilliant hues. The two banks, resting atop salt domes and encompassing areas of about 100 and 250 acres, were designated a marine sanctuary in 1992 (under the Marine Sanctuary Program established by the United States Congress in 1972) by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Credit for the first European discovery of the Gulf belongs to Sebastián de Ocampo, a Spaniard who circumnavigated Cuba in 1508–09 and returned to Santo Domingo (Hispaniola) with news of the body of water that lay beyond. Thereafter, the Gulf served as a primary approach to the North American mainland. Before that, and after Columbus's discovery of the Antilles, several maps portrayed what latter-day interpreters have assumed to be the Gulf, thereby disputing the actual discovery date. The basis for such cartography, however, is uncertain. It may be considered either hypothetical (as the 1500 map of Juan de la Cosa) or as representing the coast of Asia in keeping with Columbus's concept (as the 1502 prototype known as the Cantino map). The first known mainland landing within the Gulf of Mexico by Europeans was Juan Ponce De León's on the Florida peninsula in 1513. The next three voyages to penetrate the "hidden sea"—those of Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, Juan de Grijalva, and Hernán Cortés, 1517–19—focused on the southern Gulf.

Shortly after Cortés's departure from Cuba early in 1519, destined for the conquest of Mexico, Alonso Álvarez de Pineda sailed from Jamaica to probe the Gulf's northern shore and western perimeter, seeking a strait to the Pacific Ocean. This voyage provided the "Pineda map," the first cartographic representation of any part of Texas, as well as of the Gulf itself. Álvarez de Pineda's crew were the first Europeans to glimpse the Texas coast. Although Álvarez's sketch provided no place names along the Texas shore, descriptive terms that still apply began appearing on Spanish maps: words that suggest a low-lying coast subject to flooding and lack of a secure anchorage. The Gulf itself remained nameless until the early 1540s, being considered a part of the Atlantic Ocean or "North Sea." The Spanish name most often applied to it was Seno Mexicano (seno = "gulf" or "bay"), although it was occasionally referred to in maps and documents as Golfo de Nueva España, Golfo de México, or a variant.

For more than a century and a half after its discovery, it remained a sacrosanct "Spanish sea," forbidden to other nations. Almost all European contact with Texas during this early period was through the Gulf of Mexico. Visitors included the expedition of Pánfilo de Narváez (1528); the remnant of the Hernando de Soto entrada, led by Luis de Moscoso Alvarado , in 1543; salvagers of the Padre Island Spanish shipwrecks of 1554 ; and Guido de Lavazares , who landed at Matagorda Bay in 1558. Such expeditions advanced the Spanish mapping of Texas and began the study of the Gulf's hydrology, which continues today. The practically oriented Spanish pilots compiled a rudimentary bottom profile of coastal waters with no more advanced technology than the sounding lead. With this primitive but effective device, they determined not only the water depth "within soundings" but also a description of the bottom material. This latter information, recorded in sailing instructions kept in the Casa de Contratación in Seville, helped establish the identity of a given location by the nature of the sediment.

It also provided a clue to the bottom's suitability for holding an anchor. These early expeditions accomplished nothing toward the occupation of Texas. In that sense, the more meaningful exploration followed the Texas landing of the La Salle expedition (1685). Spanish voyages seeking La Salle's settlement included the first complete circumnavigation of the Gulf (by the Rivas-Iriarte expedition , 1686–87) and brought forth names for Texas and Louisiana coastal features that graced European maps for years to come. Whereas the French intrusion motivated Spanish interest in the middle Texas coast, the intractable Karankawa Indians, holding the barrier islands from Galveston Bay to Aransas Pass , forestalled Spanish control. Aided by forbidding geography, they prevented the opening of a Gulf port, the lack of which imposed a severe handicap on Spanish activities in Texas. Although the Mexican coast was explored and much of it settled in the sixteenth century, some segments remain inaccessible by motor vehicle in the twentieth.

The last area to be subdued and occupied during colonial times was the coastal strip known as Nuevo Santander, or Costa del Seno Mexicano, which comprises what is now the Mexican state of Tamaulipas and that part of Texas between the lower Nueces River and the Rio Grande. Since the first Europeans sailed the Gulf of Mexico, the body of water and its littoral have been severely affected by man and nature. River deposits contribute to nature's work, but storms and hurricanes claim a greater share of the consciousness of coastal residents. With seeming regularity, hurricanes —spawned either in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, or the Gulf itself—regularly ravage some part of the Gulf shore during the months of June to November. Although most often viewed in terms of their destructive force, the high winds and accompanying storm surge have played a large part in sculpting the shore. Hurricanes and storms, while destroying one island, may build another. Their beneficial effects for the Gulf and its littoral include reviving drought-stricken wetlands, balancing the salinity and stirring up nutrients in coastal estuaries (the spawning areas and nurseries for commercial fisheries), and moderating the atmosphere.

From the beginning of European settlement in the Gulf, human beings have placed themselves at odds with these natural forces and have often paid the price. On April 29, 1554, an equinoctial storm drove three Spanish treasure ships aground on Padre Island with heavy loss of life and cargo. In early September 1766 a hurricane scattered a Spanish fleet crossing the Gulf, driving ships aground in Louisiana and Texas and destroyed the Spanish mission (Nuestra Señora de la Luz) and presidio (San Agustín de Ahumada) on the lower Trinity River. The list goes on. The more intense the coastal development, the greater the potential for destruction by hurricanes. Developers, vacationers, and condominium owners often assume an uncompromising attitude in facing the killer hurricanes, refusing to acknowledge that the Gulf beaches and barrier islands actually belong to the sea. A case in point is the intensive development of South Padre Island, a part of the 113-mile stretch of barrier sand between Corpus Christi and the Rio Grande.

This development, with apartments and condominiums built on bulldozed dunes, has been built since Hurricane Beulah sliced the island into thirty-one segments in September 1967. Considering the pitfalls of predicting a hurricane's path and timing, forecasters cringe at the thought of the loss that a Beulah-like storm might cause in the same area today. Projections indicate that the Texas Gulf coast will have 5.3 million residents by the year 2,000. The more people, and the greater the demands placed on the Gulf's environs, the more critical becomes the effect on the natural balance. Various studies and government reports note that 225 Texas acres of topsoil wash into the Gulf each year. Louisiana is similarly plagued, losing more than fifty square miles of topsoil a year to erosion. The United States Army Corps of Engineers estimates that 60 percent of the Texas shore is eroding, 33 percent stable, and 7 percent advancing. One factor contributing to beach erosion is the impoundment behind large dams of river water that would normally supply beach-building materials. The reduced river flow results in the formation of settling basins that trap sediments before they reach the Gulf.

Other "high-tech" engineering projects also contribute to the problem by curtailing the free exchange of sediments. "Manmade sand traps" along the shore now include six deep channels and several long jetties. Additionally, the Gulf and its beaches are being polluted by hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil and hazardous materials that spill into the water annually. More than 500 tons of trash washes ashore each year. Under state or federal protection are Aransas National Wildlife Refuge , wintering ground of most of the world's whooping cranesqv in the wild; Padre Island National Seashore , the nation's longest stretch of undeveloped beach; and several other shoreline segments. The preserves stand in contrast to "dream homes" and amusement parks built on fragile stretches of barrier sand. The Gulf coast is the center of the state's oil refining and petrochemical industries. They are served by the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway , which extends 1,200 miles from Brownsville to Carrabelle, Florida, its course passing within the Texas barrier islands and thence mostly through channels dredged inside the coast.

The waterway traverses the heart of the endangered whooping cranes' refuge with hazardous cargos of crude oil, benzene, carbon tetrachloride, hydrochloric acid, and other caustic chemicals; a mishap could be disastrous. The waterway must be dredged to remain open. Disposal of spoilage—some 400 million cubic yards of silt a year—gives rise to environmental threats, which must be balanced against the economic benefits. Environmentalists are generally opposed to expanding the waterway to accommodate more traffic and larger vessels, claiming that wetlands would be endangered by resultant incursion of salt water. Yet the waterway is credited with reducing the hypersalinity of the Laguna Madre (enclosed by Padre Island), which resulted in large fish mortalities in the 1930s and 1940s. From an economic standpoint, the waterway has proved highly cost-effective. It moves some eighty million tons of cargo along the coast each year. The waterway and the industries that depend on it provided more than 145,000 jobs in 1986. The Gulf itself is one of the world's most concentrated ocean shipping areas.

Cargo received and shipped through Texas ports in 1990 totaled more than 335 million tons, of which 321 million tons was handled by thirteen major ports. Eighty percent of this tonnage in 1986 was made up of oil and petrochemical products. Because of its location on the Gulf of Mexico, Texas is economically linked to Latin America, especially to Mexico, with which it maintains an important trade relationship. Texas port facilities have generally been closely linked to offshore drilling for oil, a situation somewhat altered by a downturn in the oil and gas industry in the mid-1980s. Refuse from both ships and oil rigs, which punctuate the continental shelf of both the United States and Mexico, has contributed to the Gulf's being labeled the "dumping ground for a hemisphere's trash." An international treaty known as MARPOL now makes such trash dumping in the Gulf illegal, but the measure is considered unlikely to bring a complete solution: the same ocean current that aided sailing ships entering the Gulf from afar also brings trash from afar.

Detritus from near the equator has been known to wash up on Padre Island National Seashore, where the shore current seems to "suck in" debris, and sometimes shipwrecks. The prevailing southeasterly wind produces wave trains that strike the beach at a slight angle, generating a longshore drift on the upper coast. In the coastal-bend area, this shore current meets a north-flowing current driven by opposing winds; the impeded flow deposits its flotsam upon the shore. This effect is perhaps most noticeable on North Padre's Big Shell Beach, which offers a constantly changing array of sea-borne debris, as well as a kaleidoscopic assortment of shells. MARPOL is but one manifestation of the growing concern for the Gulf environment. With some 1,000 oil spills, major and minor, occurring each year on the Texas coast, the Texas legislature has enhanced the state's response system. Responsibility for the effort is assigned to the General Land Office , which has pushed for oil-spill reforms, beach and shoreline erosion programs, better beach access, and protection of coastal habitats.

That protection of Texas beaches and wildlife does not rest solely upon state solutions, however, is demonstrated not only by the debris-laden current from outside the Gulf but also by episodes like the 1979 blowout of a Mexican oil well in the southern Gulf. The well, Ixtoc 1 in the Bay of Campeche, for a time spewed some 30,000 barrels of oil a day into the sea. Borne across the Gulf by the current, a resulting oil slick reached the Texas barriers two months later; birds sickened, beaches blackened, and tourists departed. The state braced for a major disaster, which it was spared only by a seasonal change in wind and current. Nevertheless, a two-month clean-up effort was required on the 125-mile stretch from Port Isabel to Port Aransas, and lumps of Ixtoc tar were still washing ashore years later with each springtime warming. A scientist of the University of Texas Marine Science Instituteqv at Port Aransas has predicted that the effects may last as long as thirty years; others believe they will last twice that long.

The Marine Science Institute, along with the Sea Grant College program of Texas A&M University, is concerned with understanding the Gulf of Mexico and attacking its problems. Since the institute was founded in 1941, following a massive fish kill resulting from a "red tide" in 1935, it has studied the phenomenon—which recurred in the Gulf in 1986—and its causes. It also studies the role of seaweeds and seagrasses in aquatic food chains, circulation and exchange processes in the oceans, and the physical properties of seawater in bays and estuaries of the Gulf of Mexico and the world's oceans. The institute is looking into the feasibility of natural spawning of saltwater fish and shrimp in captivity for commercial production. The Texas A&M Sea Grant program participates in the Institute of Marine Life Sciences, which has headquarters in Galveston. The focus is on protection of coastal waters from pollution by industrial and human waste, ships, and recreational boating. In recent years a sharp decline has been observed in the Gulf shrimp catch. Though overfishing is considered the primary culprit, freshwater runoff in the heavy rainfall years has stressed shrimp development and contributed to a decline in the harvest.

In 1994 the Texas Shrimp Association and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department were attempting to hammer out regulations to ease the shrimpers' plight. Industry spokesmen note that the shrimping industry constitutes 94 percent of all reported commercial fishing in Texas and provides 30,000 jobs with annual payrolls of $326 million. This dominance results from a number of causes, including the fact that the public favors sport fishing and tourism over commercial fishing. The Gulf of Mexico today is a far cry from the pristine sea discovered by Spanish navigators almost half a millennium ago. Though nature continues to revise its own creation, human endeavor in the Gulf and its environs exerts its own impact, much of it deleterious: on fish and wildlife, the beaches, inlets and estuaries, and the atmosphere. Parallel to efforts to preserve the whooping crane is concern for other endangered species such as the manatee (in eastern Gulf waters) and Kemp's ridley sea turtle. The latter, which often becomes enmeshed in shrimp nets and drowns, exemplifies the conflict that often occurs between human industry and nature.

As both these factors have altered the Gulf of Mexico and its environment in the past, they will continue to do so in the future. Scientists are constantly trying to fathom the direction and effect of that change. Among the concerns is the so-called "greenhouse effect," which some believe will bring a rise in global temperatures that will melt polar ice caps and raise sea levels. In the Gulf, that could mean inundation of large areas of low-lying coastal lands. On the basis of an Environmental Protection Agency report, a Louisiana scientist has projected a twelve-foot rise in the sea level by the year 2040. Such a rise would flood a fourth of Louisiana and seriously affect not only Louisiana but Texas and all the lands bordering the Gulf. The Corps of Engineers, meanwhile, wages a battle to keep the Mississippi River from hastening its race for the Gulf by taking over the Atchafalaya River and by-passing New Orleans. It's all a part of the contest between transient humankind and the eternal forces of the cosmos. See also GEOLOGY , MAPS , and OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY .

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Jean Andrews, Sea Shells of the Texas Coast (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1971). Joseph C. Britton and Brian Morton, Shore Ecology of the Gulf of Mexico (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1989). Dallas Morning News, November 24, 1991. Ben Funk, "Hurricane!," National Geographic, September 1980. H. Dickson Hoese and Richard H. Moore, Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico: Texas, Louisiana, and Adjacent Waters (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1977). Texas Shores, Winter 1986, Winter 1987, Spring 1988. Robert S. Weddle, The French Thorn: Rival Explorers in the Spanish Sea, 1682–1762 (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1991). Robert S. Weddle, Spanish Sea: The Gulf of Mexico in North American Discovery, 1500–1685 (College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1985).

Steven C. Wilson and Karen C. Hayden, "Where Oil and Wildlife Mix," National Geographic, February 1981. Gordon Young, "The Gulf's Workaday Waterway," National Geographic, February 1978. Robert S. Weddle Geography of the Gulf of Mexico - Border States Geography of the Gulf of Mexico Geography of the Gulf of Mexico States Learn about the States Surrounding the Gulf of Mexico Geography Expert By Amanda Briney The Gulf of Mexico is an ocean basin located close to the southeastern United States . It is one of the largest bodies of water in the world and it is a part of the Atlantic Ocean . The basin has an area of 600,000 square miles (1.5 million sq km) and most of it consists of shallow intertidal areas but there are some very deep portions. The Gulf of Mexico is bounded by five U.S. states. The following is a list of the five Gulf states and some information about each. 1. Alabama Alabama is a state located in the southeastern United States.

It has an area of 52,419 square miles (135,765 sq km) and a 2008 population of 4,4661,900. Its largest cities are Birmingham, Montgomery and Mobile. Alabama is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida to the south and Mississippi to the west. Only a small portion of its coastline is on the Gulf of Mexico ( map ) but it has a busy port located on the Gulf in Mobile. More » continue reading below our video 10 Facts About the Titanic That You Don't Know 2. Florida Florida is a state in the southeastern United States that is bordered by Alabama and Georgia to the north and the Gulf of Mexico the the south and east. It is a peninsula that is surrounded by water on three sides ( map ) and it has a 2009 population of 18,537,969. The area of Florida is 53,927 square miles (139,671 sq km). Florida is known as the "sunshine state" because of its warm subtropical climate and many beaches, including those on the Gulf of Mexico.

More » 3. Louisiana Louisiana ( map ) is located between the Gulf of Mexico states of Texas and Mississippi and is south of Arkansas . It has an area of 43,562 square miles (112,826 sq km) and a 2005 population estimate (prior to Hurricane Katrina ) of 4,523,628. Louisiana is known for its multicultural population, its culture and events such as Mardi Gras in New Orleans . It is also known for its well established fishing economy and ports on the Gulf of Mexico. More » 4. Mississippi Mississippi ( map ) is a state located in the southeastern United States with an area of 48,430 square miles (125,443 sq km) and a 2008 population of 2,938,618. Its largest cities are Jackson, Gulfport and Biloxi. Mississippi is bordered by Louisiana and Arkansas to the west, Tennesse to the north and Alabama to the east. Most of the state is forested and undeveloped aside from the Mississippi River delta and the Gulf coast area.

Like Alabama, only a small portion of its coastline is on the Gulf of Mexico but the area is popular for tourism. More » 5. Texas Texas ( map ) is a state located on the Gulf of Mexico and it is the second largest of the contiguous states based on both area and population. The area of Texas is 268,820 square miles (696,241 sq km) and the state's 2009 population was 24,782,302. Texas is bordered by the U.S. states of New Mexico , Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana as well as by the Gulf of Mexico and Mexico. Texas is known for its oil-based economy but its Gulf Coast areas are quickly growing and are some of the most important areas for the state. More » United States Geography: Regions US Geography regions The United States is often divided up into geographical regions. Using these regions can help to describe a larger area and also helps to group together states that are similar in features such as geography, culture, history, and climate. While there are some official government regions, such as those used by the U.S.

Census Bureau and the Standard Federal Regions, most people use five major regions when dividing up the states. They are the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Southwest, and West. Because these aren't officially defined regions, some border states may appear in different regions depending on the document or map you are looking at. For example, sometimes Maryland is considered part of the Southeast, but we include it in the Northeast on our map. Major Regions Northeast States included: Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland Climate: Humid continental climate with cool summers in the northernmost areas. Snow falls during the winter as the temperatures are regularly below freezing. Major geographical features: Appalachian Mountains, Atlantic Ocean, Great Lakes, borders on Canada to the north Southeast States included: West Virginia, Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Arkansas, Louisiana, Florida Climate: Humid subtropical climate with hot summers. Hurricanes can reach landfall in the summer and fall months along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

Major geographical features: Appalachian Mountains, Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi River Midwest States included: Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota Climate: Humid continental climate throughout most of the region. Snow is common during the winter, especially in the northern areas. Major geographical features: Great Lakes, Great Plains, Mississippi River, borders Canada to the north Southwest States included: Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona Climate: Semiarid Steppe climate in the western area with a more humid climate to the east. Some of the far western areas of the region have an alpine or desert climate. Major geographical features: Rocky Mountains, Colorado River, Grand Canyon, Gulf of Mexico, borders Mexico to the south West States included: Colorado, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Nevada, California, Alaska, Hawaii Climate: A range of climates including semiarid and alpine along the Rocky and Sierra Mountains. The coastline in California is a Mediterranean climate. Desert climates can be found in Nevada and Southern California.

Major geographical features: Rocky Mountains, Sierra Nevada Mountains, Mohave Desert, Pacific Ocean, borders Canada to the North and Mexico to the south Other Regions Here are some other sub-regions that are often referred to: Mid-Atlantic - Virginia, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey Central Plains - Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska Great Lakes - Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan New England - Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut Pacific Northwest - Washington, Oregon, Idaho Rocky Mountains - Utah, Colorado, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana More on US geographical features: Gulf of Mexico facts, information, pictures | Encyclopedia.com articles about Gulf of Mexico COPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group, Inc. Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico is a unique, semi-enclosed sea located between the Yucatan and Florida peninsulas, at the southeast shores of the United States . The Gulf of Mexico borders five of the 50 United States ( Alabama , Florida, Louisiana , Mississippi , and Texas ), and also Cuba and the eastern part of Mexico. Sometimes it is also called America's Sea.

The Straits of Florida divides the Gulf from the Atlantic Ocean , while the Yucatan Channel separates it from the Caribbean Sea . The Gulf of Mexico covers more than 600,000 mi2 (almost 1.5 million km2), and in some areas its depth reaches 12,000 ft (3660m), where it is called Sigsbee Deep, or the "Grand Canyon under the sea." About two-thirds of the contiguous United States (31 states between the Rocky Mountains and the Appalachian Mountains) belongs to the watershed area of the Gulf of Mexico, while it receives freshwater from 33 major river systems, and many small rivers , creeks, and streams. This watershed area covers a little less than two million mi2(almost 5 million km2). The currents in the Gulf of Mexico form a complex system. Its dominant feature is the Caribbean Current, coming from the warm Caribbean Sea by the Yucatan Channel, meandering around in the Gulf, then leaving through the Straits of Florida. Together with the Antilles Current, the Caribbean Current forms the Gulf Stream .

The Gulf of Mexico has tides (the ocean waters' response to the Moon's and Sun 's gravitational pull) of normally 2 ft (0.6 m) or less. According to the modified Trewartha climate system, most of the Gulf Coast area is in the subtropical climate region with a summer precipitation maximum. The southern tip of the Yucatan Peninsula belongs to the savanna climate, and between the subtropical and the savanna lies a small area of tropical dry savanna. The hurricane season is between June and November, when hurricanes from the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, or the Gulf of Mexico can damage the Gulf shore, and beyond it. These hurricanes also help to balance the salinity of the water , while also moderating the atmosphere. The Gulf of Mexico plays an important role as a fuel injector for hurricanes before landfall, since major hurricanes are rapidly intensified by passing over deep and warm water. The Gulf of Mexico has several environmental quality problems originating either from natural processes, or from anthropogenic pollution, or their combination. The problems range from erosion , and topsoil washing from the land into the Gulf, to oil spills and hazardous material spills, or trash washing ashore.

These problems not only affect the estuaries, wetlands, and water quality in the Gulf, but have led to problems such as hypoxia (a zone of oxygen-depleted water), declining fish catch, contaminated fish, fish kills, endangered species, and air and water quality problems. The role of the Gulf of Mexico is complex. The Gulf hosts important ocean currents (the area where hurricanes can gain strength before hitting land). The Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean area contain some of the most spectacular wildlife in the world. The Gulf also partially supplies moisture for the North American Monsoon, and is also an important area for recreation and commercial fisheries. Many onshore refineries and offshore drilling platforms operate in the Gulf area, and produce about a quarter of the crude oil and almost one third of the natural gas in the United States. The Gulf also links the ports of the five southern states and Mexico with the ocean; about half of all the cargo shipped in and out of the United States travels through the Gulf. The Gulf of Mexico provides food, energy, jobs, recreation, and government revenue, not only benefiting the population on the shoreline of the Gulf, but the whole country.

See also Delta; Dunes; Estuary; Gulf stream; Petroleum extraction; Red tide; Rip current; Seawalls and beach erosion Cite this article Pick a style below, and copy the text for your bibliography. MLA COPYRIGHT 2003 The Gale Group Inc. MEXICO, GULF OF MEXICO, GULF OF. Bounded by the southern United States, eastern Mexico, and Cuba, this oval-shaped body of water has played a central role in North America's economic and political development. The Gulf of Mexico and its coastal beaches, estuaries, and islands have supplied varied peoples with abundant food and minerals. A warm current, the Gulf Stream, enters the gulf from the Caribbean Sea at the Strait of Yucatán and flows into the Atlantic at the Straits of Florida. The gulf's large mass of warm water shapes weather across the region, creating long growing seasons and violent tropical storms. The 600,000-square-mile gulf has been the site of important trade routes and settlements and a pivotal arena for imperial contests since Europeans first arrived in the Americas.

Diverse native societies once ringed the gulf, including complex Maya and Aztec civilizations in Mesoamerica, and Calusa, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Natchez, and Karankawa peoples in what became the United States. Spain first explored the gulf in voyages by Juan Ponce de León in 1513 and Alonso Alvarez de Pineda in 1519, and colonial outposts such as Havana and Veracruz rapidly followed. The gulf was a Spanish sea for nearly two centuries, and Spanish galleons took great quantities of silver and gold from the region. The French entered the gulf in about 1700, and the heart of their colonial effort was the Mississippi River and New Orleans, founded in 1718. Imperial rivalries between Spain, France, and England dominated the region in the eighteenth century. The eventual winner, the United States, entered the scene in 1803 with the Louisiana Purchase. The Americans continued earlier patterns of growing rice, sugar, and cotton using slave labor, and New Orleans became their major gulf port.

A powerful desire for new lands led to American acquisition of Florida, completed between 1810 and 1819. Florida and Texas were granted statehood in 1845, and the admission of Texas led to war with Mexico. The American victory in the Mexican-American War in 1848 confirmed the Rio Grande as the western edge of America's Gulf Coast. Expansion along the gulf ended there, as antebellum efforts to purchase Cuba for its sugar plantations and strategic position failed. The security and stability of the Gulf of Mexico remained a significant foreign policy concern during the twentieth century. In 1898 the American victory in the Spanish-American War gave Puerto Rico to the United States, and Cuba became an American protectorate. The Panama Canal, begun in 1904, made shipping lanes in the gulf even more important. The United States intervened in the region many times in the twentieth century with its greatest focus on its complex Cold War relations with Cuba. Military tensions in the gulf eased by the beginning of the twenty-first century, but environmental concerns increased as large numbers of Americans built homes along the Gulf or visited its beaches as tourists.

In the twenty-first century the Gulf Coast remained a major agricultural region and the site of important fisheries, and after the 1940s it became a leader in oil, natural gas, and petrochemical production. The Gulf of Mexico has rich natural resources, but its many users put its productive waters and fragile coastlines and reefs at risk. BIBLIOGRAPHY Gore, Robert H. The Gulf of Mexico: A Treasury of Resources in the American Mediterranean. Sarasota, Fla.: Pineapple Press, 1992. Weber, David J. The Spanish Frontier in North America. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1992. William C.Barnett The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright The Columbia University Press Gulf of Mexico, arm of the Atlantic Ocean, c.700,000 sq mi (1,813,000 sq km), SE North America. The Gulf stretches more than 1,100 mi (1,770 km) from west to east and c.800 mi (1,290 km) from north to south.

It is bordered by the southeast coast of the United States from Florida to Texas, and the east coast of Mexico from Tamaulipas to Yucatán. Cuba is near the Gulf's entrance. On Cuba's northern side the Gulf is connected with the Atlantic Ocean by the Straits of Florida; on Cuba's southern side it is connected with the Caribbean Sea by the Yucatán Channel. Warm water from the Caribbean enters the Gulf through the Channel, forms a loop current off the U.S. and Mexican coasts, and then exits through the Straits as the Florida Current, becoming the Gulf Stream . The Bay of Campeche (Bahía de Campeche), Mexico, and Apalachee Bay, Florida, are the Gulf's largest arms. Sigsbee Deep (12,714 ft/3,875 m), the Gulf's deepest part, lies off the Mexican coast. The shoreline is generally low, sandy, and marshy, with many lagoons and deltas. 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 northern coast.

Oil deposits from the continental shelf are tapped by offshore wells, especially near Texas and Louisiana. Most of the U.S. shrimp catch comes from the Gulf Coast; menhaden is also important. The discovery in the 1990s of a large oxygen-depleted "dead zone" off the Louisiana coast raised concerns about the effects of agricultural runoff on the Gulf; the zone has at times encompassed more than 8,000 sq mi (20,700 sq km). The chief Gulf ports are at Tampa and Pensacola, Fla.; Mobile, Ala.; New Orleans; Galveston and Corpus Christi, Tex.; Tampico and Veracruz, Mexico; and Havana, Cuba. Cite this article Florida Geography from NETSTATE The Beaches of Walton County East Gulf Coastal Plain: The East Gulf Coastal Plain, a sub-section of the Atlantic Plain, like the Atlantic Coastal Plain, presents itself in two sections of Florida. The sections are divided by a portion of the Florida Uplands. In southwestern Florida, the East Gulf Coastal Plain extends inland to cover parts of the Big Cypress Swamp and the Everglades .

The East Gulf Coastal Plain is similar to the Atlantic Coastal Plain on the other side of the Florida peninsula. Barrier islands run along the west coast of Florida and coastal swampland extends inland. The northern section of the East Gulf Coastal Plain curves around the upper edge of the northeastern Gulf of Mexico at Apalachee Bay and extends west across the Florida panhandle to Florida's western border. Florida Uplands: From the northwest corner of the state, the Florida Uplands run about 275 miles west to east, along the northern edge of the Florida Panhandle and then extends south into the central area of the Florida peninsula. The width of the northern Florida Uplands varies from around 30 to 50 miles and is characterized by low rolling hills of red clay. Hard and softwood forests are plentiful. The section of the Florida Uplands that extends south into the peninsula, covers an area about 100 miles wide and 160 miles long. This area extends from the north, south and to the east, to separate the two sections of the East Gulf Coastal Plain and to separate the East Gulf Coastal Plain from the Atlantic Coastal Plain.

The landscape in the southern Florida Uplands is characterized by low hills and many lakes. Though the Florida Uplands are only 200-300 feet above sea level, they are still higher than the regions of the Atlantic Coastal Plain and the East Gulf Coastal Plain. The highest point in Florida is found in the Florida Uplands that run along the northern edge of the panhandle. Just south of the Alabama border, west of Paxton, Britton Hill is 345 feet above sea level and is the lowest state high point in the nation.

Question: What ocean gulf borders 5 states, including Florida and Texas?
Answer: The Gulf of Mexico