Gulf of Mexico

About Gulf of Mexico: 

• It borders the southeastern coast of North America.
• It is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the Straits of Florida, running between the peninsula of Florida and the island of Cuba, and to the Caribbean Sea by the Yucatán Channel, which runs between the Yucatán Peninsula and Cuba.
• It is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean and the world’s largest gulf. It is often referred to as the “Mediterranean of the Americas”.
• It was formed as a result of seafloor subsidence due to the movement of the tectonic plates.
• It is somewhat shallow, along the coastal continental shelf areas, and has an average depth of 1,615 m.
• Climate:
  • Its climate varies from tropical to subtropical type.
  • This region experiences some of the most severe weather in the world, including major hurricanes, tornadoes, and thunderstorms.
• Rivers: The Mississippi and the Rio Grande are the major rivers draining into the gulf.
• Natural resources: The shallow continental shelf regions of this Gulf contain large deposits of petroleum and natural gas.

Q1:Where is the Yucatan Peninsula?

 It is a Northeastern projection of Central America which is lying between the Gulf of Mexico to the west and north and the Caribbean Sea to the east. The peninsula is almost wholly composed of beds of coralline and porous limestone rocks.

Source: IE