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MEXICO, GULF OF

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Originally appearing in Volume V18, Page 348 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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MEXICO, GULF OF , a mediterranean gulf almost surrounded by the coasts of the See also:United States and Mexico, and forming the See also:northern See also:division of the See also:extension westward of the See also:west See also:Atlantic See also:trench (see ATLANTIC OCEAN). Its See also:southern boundary is defined by the partly submerged See also:ridge which extends eastwards from the See also:peninsula of See also:Yucatan, and on which the See also:island of See also:Cuba is situated: to the See also:east it communicates directly with the Atlantic by the Strait of See also:Florida. On the western See also:side of Yucatan a southerly embayment is formed by the Gulf of Campeachy. The United States See also:coast closely follows the parallel of 30° N., while the parallel of 200 N. cuts across the Gulf of Campeachy: the greatest length—See also:Vera Cruz to. Florida—is 1120 m., and greatest width—See also:Galveston to Campeachy—68o m. The See also:total See also:area is approximately 716,000 sq. in. The deepest See also:part of the Gulf of Mexico, the so-called " Sigsbee deep, lies below the See also:line of 2000 fathoms, between 23° and 251° N., and 842° to 95° W. It is widest to the west, where the breadth is about 120 m., and narrows to 25 M. at its greatest See also:depth (2119 fathoms) between 86° and 88° W., widening again to some 8o m. farther eastward. The See also:continental shelf is for the most part narrow: its breadth is 6 m. at Cape Florida, 120 M. along the west coast of Florida, ro m. at the See also:south pass of the See also:Mississippi, 130 M. near the boundary of See also:Texas and See also:Louisiana, and 15 M. off Vera Cruz. The shores are See also:low, sandy and marshy, the coast-line being frequently doubled by lagoons. There are no islands except the " Keys " of Florida and Yucatan, and Cuba. The tides in the Gulf of Mexico are of comparatively small range (springs rarely exceed 4 ft. and neaps 21 ft.), but a remarkable feature is the exaggeration of the diurnal inequality to such an extent as almost to extinguish the semi-diurnal See also:tide in the inner parts of the gulf, giving high and low See also:water only once daily.

The mean level of the water in the Gulf of Mexico was formerly given as about 40 in. .above that of mean See also:

sea-level at New See also:York, but later reports on precise levellings from New York to See also:Biloxi through St See also:Louis describe it vaguely as " some-what higher." The current See also:movement in the Gulf of Mexico consists of a rotational movement in the direction of the hands of a See also:watch, the See also:branch of the See also:equatorial current which enters the Caribbean Sea passing into the Gulf by the Strait of Yucatan and issuing from it by the Strait of Florida as the Gulf Stream, which unites with the See also:remainder of the northward moving water, forming the See also:Antilles current. From See also:March to See also:September the prevailing winds are the See also:north-east trades; these undergo considerable modification on See also:account of the configuration of the surrounding See also:land, and the rains which accompany them are interrupted by spells of See also:calm thickweather, and rarely by northerly winds known as Nortek del hueso See also:colorado and Chocolateros. In the colder dry See also:season, from See also:October to See also:April, the See also:climatic situation is dominated by the relatively high temperature of the See also:surface of the gulf, causing a cyclonic inflow of See also:air which is associated with the strong northerly winds or " northers " prevailing on the western side, more particularly along the Mexican coast. The northers sometimes See also:blow with terrific force and are at times accompanied by See also:rain. The See also:form and position of the Gulf of Mexico exercise a profound See also:influence on the See also:climate of the whole of the southern and south-eastern states of the See also:Union, and indeed of the greater part of North See also:America. (H. N.

End of Article: MEXICO, GULF OF

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MEYER, CHRISTIAN ERICH HERMANN VON (18or-1869)

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