The Gulf of Mexico basin appears to have formed ~200 million years ago as the result of rifting within North America as the supercontinent known as Pangea began to break up. Rifting and the accompanying formation of “stretched” or “transitional” continental crust took several tens of millions of years.

The Gulf was unnamed until the early 1540s and was considered part of the Atlantic Ocean. The Spanish name most often applied to it was Seno Mexicano (seno=’gulf” or ‘bay’), although it was occasionally referred to as Golfo de Nueva España, or Golfo de México.”

The Gulf of Mexico is too large to have been formed by a meteor impact. During the Jurassic Period (140 million years ago) the entire Gulf of Mexico dried up, as it evaporated the water became depleted in oxygen and layers of black shale were deposited.

The Gulf of Mexico (Spanish: Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent.

Surveys for the clearest water in Florida consistently rate Northwest Florida’s Emerald Coast as Number One. This esteemed title of clarity includes Destin, Miramar Beach, all the picturesque coastal villages along South Walton’s Scenic 30A, and Panama City Beach. The water here is usually “swimming-pool clear”!

Best Florida Beaches

• Destin.
• Sanibel Island.
• Clearwater Beach.
• Naples.
• St. Petersburg, FL.
• Siesta Key.
• Marco Island.
• Santa Rosa Beach.

Navarre Beach This quiet Panhandle beach ‘burg located roughly equidistant from the busier destinations of Pensacola and Destin calls itself Florida’s most relaxing town.

Best Places to Live in Florida

• Naples. Famous for high-end shopping and extravagant dining, this desirable southwest Florida city ranks at the top of our list for numerous reasons.
• Sarasota.
• Melbourne.
• Miami.
• Fort Lauderdale.
• Jacksonville.
• Tampa.
• Pensacola.