OCEAN · OCEANS & SEAS · ATLANTIC OCEAN

Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, covering 1,566,759 km² — the #17 largest of the world's 101 named ocean and sea areas. Here's how it ranks, what borders it, and the live conditions at its centre right now.

GULF OF MEXICO · THE FACTS
Parent oceanAtlantic Ocean
Area1,566,759 km²
Size rank#17 of 101
Larger than84% of named seas

Boundaries & area: Marine Regions (VLIZ), IHO Sea Areas v3 — from the IHO “Limits of Oceans & Seas” (S-23). MRGID 4288.

AT THE HEART OF THE GULF OF MEXICO · RIGHT NOW
Sea temperature28.9°C / 84°F
Wave height0.8 m
Surface current1.8 km/h NE

Live from Open-Meteo Marine at 24.9°, -90.4° (the sea's representative centre). A near-real-time model estimate.

How deep is the Gulf of Mexico?

The IHO sea-area dataset that draws this map records each sea's name, boundary and surface area — not its depth, which varies enormously from the shallow shelf at its edges to its deepest trench. Rather than quote a single misleading number, we measure the water column directly: the live ocean currents trace its motion, and the deep-ocean layers (Argo floats and the descend-here column, coming to the Ocean canvas) read real temperature and depth as you go down.

SEE IT ON THE MAP

See the Gulf of Mexico coloured on the live oceans-&-seas map.

Open the seas map →