Gulf of Mexico

Japanese: メキシコ湾 - メキシコわん（英語表記）Gulf of Mexico

A gulf in the southeast of North America, surrounded by the United States and Mexico. It is a vast area of ocean separated from the open sea by the Florida Peninsula, Cuba, and Yucatan Peninsula, and connects to the Atlantic Ocean by the Straits of Florida and the Caribbean Sea by the Yucatan Channel. Its area is about 1.5 million ^km2 . A continental shelf has developed along the gulf coast, and many salt domes closely related to oil and natural gas deposits can be seen on the slope of the continental shelf. In the center of the gulf is a deep-sea plain surrounded by fault cliffs. The deepest part is almost in the center, with a depth of 5,203 m. The main ocean current in the gulf is the Gulf Stream, which enters from the Yucatan Channel in the south as a tributary of the Atlantic South Equatorial Current, circulates clockwise through the gulf, flows out of the Straits of Florida in the north, and flows north to join the main Gulf Stream. The bay has a tropical or subtropical climate and is influenced by the northeast trade winds. Hurricanes occur in this area from June to October, and are also hit by hurricanes from the Caribbean Sea and the South Atlantic. Many rivers, including the Mississippi River and the Rio Grande (Rio Bravo del Norte), flow into the bay, with a total drainage area of more than 3 million ^km2 . Most of the bay coast is low and sandy, with many sandbars, marshes, and mangroves. There are many bays, estuaries, and lagoons, and there are few good natural harbors. The bay is blessed with fishing resources such as snapper, flounder, shrimp, oysters, and crabs, and the continental shelf is being developed, and oil, natural gas, and sulfur are being extracted. Recreational activities such as fishing, boating, yachting, and swimming are popular along the coast. The main coastal ports are Veracruz and Tampico in Mexico, and Galveston, New Orleans, and Tampa in the United States.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

北アメリカ大陸南東部，アメリカ合衆国とメキシコに囲まれた湾。フロリダ半島，キューバ島，ユカタン半島によって外海から隔てられた広大な海域で，フロリダ海峡によって大西洋に，ユカタン海峡によってカリブ海に通じる。面積約 150万km²。湾岸に沿って大陸棚が発達し，大陸棚斜面にかけて石油，天然ガスの鉱床と関連の深い岩塩ドームが多数みられる。湾中央部には断層崖に囲まれた深海平原が広がる。最深部はほぼ中央にあり，水深 5203m。湾内のおもな海流はメキシコ湾流で，大西洋南赤道海流の支流として南のユカタン海峡から入り，湾内を時計回りに循環して北のフロリダ海峡から流出，北上してメキシコ湾流本流に合流する。熱帯ないし亜熱帯気候に属し，北東貿易風の影響下にあり，6～10月にはこの海域でハリケーンが発生するとともに，カリブ海，南大西洋方面からのハリケーンにも襲われる。湾にはミシシッピ川，リオグランデ川（リオブラボデルノルテ川）をはじめとする多数の川が流入，それらの流域総面積は 300万km²以上に及ぶ。湾岸は大部分低平な砂質の海岸で，砂州，湿地，マングローブなどが多く，湾，三角江，潟湖（せきこ）などが発達し，天然の良港は少ない。フエダイ，ヒラメ，エビ，カキ，カニなどの漁業資源に恵まれるほか，大陸棚の開発が進み，石油，天然ガス，硫黄が採取されている。また沿岸各地で魚釣り，ボート，ヨット，海水浴などのレクリエーション活動が盛ん。沿岸主要港はメキシコのベラクルス，タンピコ，アメリカ合衆国のガルベストン，ニューオーリンズ，タンパ。

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