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). Deepwater Horizon oil spill, also called Gulf of Mexico oil spill, largest marine oil spill in history, caused by an April 20, 2010, explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil riglocated in the Gulf of Mexico, approximately 41 miles (66 km) off the coast of Louisiana and its subsequent sinking on April 22. Hurricane Harvey is tied with Hurricane Katrina as the costliest in U.S. history. 2014). Check out our guide on the 13 colonies for everything you need to know about the colonies and how the US came to be. The Ultimate Guide to Campgrounds in Gulf Shores & Orange Beach, How to Plan a Budget-Friendly Beach Vacation, 10 Fun Family Activities in Gulf Shores & Orange Beach, 10 Cheap & Free Things To Do in Gulf Shores & Orange Beach, Take The Kids On A Catch & Release Crabbing Adventure On Alabama's Gulf Coast, The Best Restaurants for Fine Dining on Alabama Beaches, The Four Best Coffee Shops in Gulf Shores & Orange Beach, 4 Beach Restaurants Perfect for Date-Night, 10 Things to Know Before Your Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Vacation, 5 Things I Learned From My Alabama Beach Vacation, Easy Options for a Pet-Friendly Beach Vacation, Bike-Sharing at Gulf State Park: Share the Trails, Share the Wheels, 10 Things to do with Teens in Gulf Shores & Orange Beach, 5 Thrilling Amusement Parks Gulf Shores Orange Beach, The Gulf State Park Fishing and Education Pier. Covering an area of 1,507,639 km2, the Gulf of Mexico is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean and the worlds largest gulf. The explosion It is enclosed largely by North America. Heres the technology that helped scientists find itand what it may have been used for. Some of these beaches are Malaquite Beach (Texas), Crystal Sands Beach (Florida), Biloxi Beach (Mississippi), Grand Isle State Park (Louisiana), East Beach (Texas), Dauphin Island Beach (Alabama), and Orange Beach (Alabama). What SAT Target Score Should You Be Aiming For? The Padre Island is the worlds longest barrier island. An underwater brine pool off the coast of New Orleans, known as the Hot Tub of Despair, was found in the Gulf of Mexico in 2014. Red tide algae blooms in the Gulf have led to large die-offs of marine species, and the Gulf of Mexico is reported to contain one of the highest levels of microplastics in the world. 6. The fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico are considered to be one of the most productive in the world and the many Gulf Coast States have their economies centered on fishing in the gulf area. Both oceans and gulfs are large bodies of saltwater, but gulfs are smaller and are bordered on three sides by land. Regardless of region, the Gulf of Mexico has a striking diversity of flora and fauna which support fish, sharks, dolphins, and countless other marine life. Can we bring a species back from the brink? The average depth of the Gulf is roughly 5,200 feet, but other parts of the Gulf of Mexico are surprisingly deep. Look forBeach Happy magazine at Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Publix, Kroger and other major outlets. Coordinates: 24.487, -89.5363. There are 7 barrier islands along the northwest portion of the Gulf of Mexico, one of which, South Padre. Why wetlands are so critical for life on Earth, Rest in compost? The 'extreme cruelty' around the global trade in frog legs, What does cancer smell like? Eleven people died in the explosion and an estimated 5,000 barrels of oil per day leaked into the Gulf of Mexico from the 18,000-foot (5,486 m) well on the platform. In 2011, the oil taken from the gulf made up 54 percent of U.S. oil. "IHO-IOC GEBCO Gazetteer of Undersea Feature Names (Microsoft Excel spreadsheet/Adobe PDF document formats)", "Sixteenth Meeting of the GEBCO Sub-committee on Undersea Feature Names (SCUFN)", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sigsbee_Deep&oldid=1009657881, This page was last edited on 1 March 2021, at 17:52. With so much marine life dependent upon the delicate ecosystem the future of the Gulf of Mexico depends on the proper management of resources and conservation of marine life. The Gulf of Mexico is a semi-enclosed basin connected, to the south, to the Caribbean Sea, and to the North Atlantic Ocean to the east. There are over a thousand types of fish in the Gulf of Mexico, including pelagic species, reef species. It contains about 2,500 quadrillion liters of saltwater. 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. South of Cocodrie at 28.09 degrees North and 90.71 degrees West, Diaphus Bank covers about 20 square miles. The area of the Gulf of Mexico is about 615,000 square mi (1.6 million square km). It often raises the Gulf of Mexico water temperature, which can also lead to the formation and strengthening of hurricanes. 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. On April 20, 2010, an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon platform caused the largest oil spill in history. The Gulf of Mexico has a maximum width of 932.06 miles and a surface area of approximately 600,000 square miles. 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. Both are partially detailed in a lengthy 1975 National Academy of Sciences report on ocean contaminants. Though similar to the failed top kill, mud could be injected at much lower pressures during the static kill because of the stabilizing influence of the capping stack. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill damaged deep-sea habitats over a large area. The Spanish explorer Tristn de Luna y Arellano landed at Pensacola Bay and established a settlement on August 15, 1559. For over 10 years, scientists and researchers have come a long way in restoring, recovering, and researching the . Its no secret that the best seafood comes from the Gulf, which is why 75% of the shrimp in the United States comes from the Gulf of Mexico. The evaporation and filling of saltwater in the basin over the millennia created deposits and mounds that today appear as cliffs bordering Sigsbee Deep. Every day, 30A shares Beach Happy stories and eco-conscious products with millions of fans worldwide. This entailed pumping cement through a channelknown as a relief wellthat paralleled and eventually intersected the original well. Northern Gulf of Mexico deepwater bathymetry grid created from 3D seismic surveys. In 2005 Hurricane Katrina swept over the Gulf of Mexico and storm surges caused 53 levees to be breached which flooded 80% of New Orleans. The Flower Garden Banks are brightly colored coral reefs that are located about 185km to the southeast of Galveston, in the northwestern part of the Gulf of Mexico. On April 20, 2010, BP's mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon exploded, burned, and subsequently sank in the Gulf of Mexico 52 miles southeast of Venice, Louisiana. In the United States the population of the coastal regions surrounding the Gulf of Mexico is estimated to number more than 60 million people by 2025, as states such as Texas (the second most populous state) and Florida (the third most populous state) are growing quickly. The floor of the Gulf of Mexico is one of the most geologically interesting stretches of the Earths surface. The US States that border the Gulf of Mexico are famous for their beautiful beaches. "Dude, you have some terrible luck. environmental disaster, Gulf of Mexico [2010]. One of Earth's loneliest volcanoes holds an extraordinary secret. How did this mountain lion reach an uninhabited island? Over the years, these water bodies turn into dead zones. The agricultural activities inland of the Gulf of Mexico coast have led to an increase in nitrogen-rich chemical fertilizers and pesticides and phosphorus-based detergents that are eventually washed away by rains or by rivers into the aquatic ecosystems. Today, there are roughly 27,000 abandoned oil and gas wells underneath the Gulf. Some of the notable species include Southern Moon jelly, Mushroom jelly, Upside-down jelly, Cannonball jellyfish, Atlantic Sea Nettle, Pink Meanie, and Portuguese Man of War. Additional explorers, such as Francisco Hernndez de Crdoba Pnfilo de Narvez later explored the area, often capturing and enslaving local people as they did so. The Gulf formed about 300 million years ago, and in all it encompasses 600,000 square miles. 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. Beach Happy ???????? Pilots who live in Florida, and especially on the west coast of Florida, have this problem. Cuba is located to the southeast of the Gulf of Mexico. Click to place marker 2. (2021, September 8). The Gulf of Mexico The graphic above shows the varying depths of the Gulf, which can range to over 12,000 feet deep (the darker the blue the deeper the water). Fishermen found Heather Strickland's body in a trash bag miles off the coast of Pinellas County, Florida, in December 2022. Check out these interesting facts to learn more about the Gulf of Mexico. "Flaming Oil Rig Sinks in Gulf of Mexico. In high school she scored in the 99th percentile on the SAT and was named a National Merit Finalist. The dead zones are incapable of supporting aquatic flora and fauna. These four industries produce nearly $234 billion annually. depth (ft) Nearby waterbodies (689) We have not only provided the answer to the question here but have also explored more interesting facts about the Gulf. They are often connected to the ocean by narrow water passages but that is not always observed in all geographical areas. What does this mean? The Florida Panhandle becomes a magical realm when you put on scuba gear, dive in the ocean, and breathe underwater. Supported by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA) Ocean Exploration and Research, the research team recently completed an expedition into the Green Banana Blue Hole . The seawater from the Caribbean Sea that enters the Gulf of Mexico via the Yucatn Channel, quickly circulates in a clockwise loop current before exiting the Gulf through the Florida Straits, eventually forming the Gulf Stream. Briney, Amanda. So is the Gulf of Mexico an ocean? What Went Wrong? The bureaus job is to manage exploration and development of the countrys offshore mineral and energy resources. To complete your Gulf of Mexico knowledge, we also go over all the key information you should know about its physical geography and history. at about 7,000-8,000 feet deep in the Gulf of Mexico. One of the most devastating was Hurricane Katrina, which formed in the Gulf of Mexico in 2005 and caused over 1,200 deaths and $125 billion in damage, mostly concentrated in New Orleans, Louisiana and surrounding areas. While the Gulf of Mexico was once the source of colonization and discovery for early explorers, today its known for its four major industries oil and gas, shipping, fishing, and tourism. Bacteria that had adapted to consuming naturally occurring gas and oil seeping from the seabed were thought to have consumed a portion of it. The Mississippi is the largest river that drains into the Gulf of Mexico and carries with it an extraordinary amount of these contaminants into the Gulf. The Sigsbee Deep[Note 1] (Mexico basin in the U. S. Board on Geographic Names Advisory Committee on Undersea Features (ACUF) Gazetteer),[1] is a roughly triangular basin that is the deepest part of the Gulf of Mexico named for Commander Charles Dwight Sigsbee, USN, Assistant U. S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, commanding officer of the USC&GS George S. Blake which discovered the feature during its mapping of the Gulf of Mexico. It comprises a volume of around 2,500 quadrillions (a real number!) Old cells hang around as we age, doing damage to the body. A study has dated the coral to be at least 2,000 years old. The lake gets its foreboding name because of how salty the water is and how most things dont survive it. The wetlands along the Gulf of Mexico cover around 5 million acres (2.02 million hectares). How many miles deep is the Gulf of Mexico? What is wind chill, and how does it affect your body? Should You Stay in Gulf Shores or Orange Beach? The basin is roughly circular in shape and approximately 810 nautical miles (1,500 km) wide. The paper presents and discusses two semisubmersible designs that assume a common topsides and riser payload. With the damaged riser shorn from the LMRPthe top segment of the BOPthe cap was lowered into place. Its no secret that the Gulf of Mexico is a great vacation spot! The Gulf of Mexico is roughly oval-shaped with a long dimension of about 950 mi (1,500 km). She holds a Certificate of Advanced Study in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) from California State University. Deep below the surface, salt domes protrude from the seafloor and some of the . The first oil well was drilled in the Gulf in 1938. Briney, Amanda. In geographic terms, the Gulf of Mexico is also an ocean basin. NOAA. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Where Is the Gulf of Mexico? You can change between miles or km at any time. It is rumored that they buried some of their stolen loot on the bay. Data gathered by oil exploration companies was combined to create the highest resolution map ever made of the area. The Gulf of Mexico, located between Florida and Yucatan peninsulas, is a great place to vacation, live, and work. Only a vague outline of this bizarre landscape was visible on the old map, which had a resolution of 27,000 square feet per pixel, actually quite good for the seafloor. Final Reports FINAL REPORT: Congressional Letters - Offshore Whistleblower Protection What caused the Deepwater Horizon oil spill? Lets look at some unique facts about this body of water.