Gulf Coast of the United States
The
Gulf Coast region of the
United States comprises the coasts of states which border the
Gulf of Mexico. The states of
Texas,
Louisiana,
Mississippi,
Alabama, and
Florida are known as the
Gulf States. The Gulf Coast is sometimes referred to as the
"Third Coast."The Gulf Coast is intersected by numerous rivers, the largest of which is the
Mississippi. Land along the Gulf Coast tends to be low and flat, and much of it is (or was)
marshland. The western portions of the Gulf Coast include many
barrier islands and
peninsulas, including the 130 mile (210 km)
Padre Island and
Galveston Island. These landforms protect numerous bays and inlets. The central part of the Gulf Coast, from eastern Texas through Louisiana, consists primarily of marshland.
Because of its proximity to the subtropical waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf Coast area is vulnerable to
hurricanes.
Floods and severe
thunderstorms also affect the region;
tornadoes are infrequent at the coast but do occur (they are much more frequent in the inland portions of those states).
Earthquakes, however, are virtually unheard of.
The Gulf Coast is a major center of economic activity. The marshlands along the Louisiana and Texas coasts provide breeding grounds and nurseries for ocean life that drive the
fishing and
shrimping industries. The
Port of South Louisiana (
New Orleans) and the
Port of Houston are two of the ten busiest
ports in the world by cargo volume. The discovery of
oil and
gas deposits along the coast and offshore, combined with easy access to shipping, have made the Gulf Coast the heart of the U.S.
petrochemical industry.
The following are the 10 largest
metropolitan areas along the Gulf Coast of the United States.
| Rank | Metropolitan Area | Population | State |
|---|
|- | 1 | Houstonâ€"Sugar Landâ€"Baytown | 5,180,443 | Texas |
| 2 | Tampaâ€"St. Petersburgâ€"Clearwater | 2,587,967 | Florida |
| 3 | New Orleansâ€"Metairieâ€"Kenner | 1,319,589 | Louisiana |
| 4 | Sarasotaâ€"Bradentonâ€"Venice | 651,862 | Florida |
| 5 | Cape Coralâ€"Fort Myers | 514,295 | Florida |
| 6 | Pensacolaâ€"Ferry Passâ€"Brent | 437,135 | Florida |
| 7 | Corpus Christi | 409,741 | Texas |
| 8 | Mobile | 400,526 | Alabama |
| 9 | Beaumontâ€"Port Arthur | 383,443 | Texas |
| 10 | Tallahassee | '''331,655 | Florida |
*
Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission*
Geography of the United States
