Mecayapan is a municipality and city in the Mexican state of Veracruz . It is located in the south-east zone of the State, about 428 km from the state capital Xalapa . It has a surface of 523.96 km2. It is located at 18°13′N 94°50′W / 18.217°N 94.833°W / 18.217; -94.833 .
107-456: The municipality of Mecayapan is delimited to the north by Gulf of Mexico to the east by Pajapan , to the south by Chinameca and to the west by Soteapan State. The weather in Mecayapan is warm all year with rains in summer and autumn. It produces principally maize , beans and green chile . In Mecayapan, the celebration in honor to Santo Santiago Jacobo, the patron saint of the town,
214-430: A brine pool 3,300 feet (1,000 m) below the gulf's surface, with a circumference of 100 feet (30 m) and 12 feet (3.7 m) feet deep, which is four to five times saltier than the rest of the water. The first exploration of the site was unmanned, using Hercules and in 2015 a team of three used the deep-submergence vehicle Alvin . The site cannot sustain any kind of life other than bacteria , mussels with
321-578: A hypoxic dead zone that runs east–west along the Texas–Louisiana coastline. In July 2008, researchers reported that between 1985 and 2008, the area roughly doubled in size. It was 8,776 square miles (22,730 km ) in 2017, the largest ever recorded. Poor agricultural practices in the northern portion of the Gulf of Mexico have led to a tremendous increase of nitrogen and phosphorus in neighboring marine ecosystems, which has resulted in algae blooms and
428-476: A magnitude 6.0 earthquake occurred about 250 miles (400 km) west-southwest of Anna Maria, Florida . The quake was reportedly felt from Louisiana to Florida. There were no reports of damage or injuries. Items were knocked from shelves and seiches were observed in swimming pools in parts of Florida. The earthquake was described by the USGS as an intraplate earthquake , the largest and most widely felt recorded in
535-420: A symbiotic relationship , tube worms and certain kinds of shrimp . It has been called the "Jacuzzi of Despair". Because it is warmer than the surrounding water (65 °F or 18 °C compared to 39 °F or 4 °C), animals are attracted to it but cannot survive once they enter it. The Gulf of Mexico is 41 percent continental slope , 32 percent continental shelf , and 24 percent abyssal plain with
642-695: A documentary about the project, short videos and video updates during the expedition. Video footage from the ROV was an integral part of this outreach and used extensively in the Mystery Mardi Gras Shipwreck documentary. On July 30, 1942, the Robert E. Lee , captained by William C. Heath, was torpedoed by the German submarine U-166 . She was sailing southeast of the entrance to the Mississippi River when
749-563: A family. This rapid intermarriage by Koreans, coupled with geographic dispersal, prevented the establishment of close social networks among these migrants and therefore provided the basis for Korean descendants across the Yucatán Peninsula. After that 1905 ship, no further entries of Koreans into Mexico were recorded until many years later, leading to a new community of Koreans with completely different characteristics from those who entered in 1905. The Constitution of Yucatán provides that
856-533: A great city which they named the «Gran Cairo». The conquest of Yucatán was completed two decades after the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire by Francisco de Montejo "el Adelantado" , his son Francisco de Montejo y León "el Mozo" and his nephew, Francisco de Montejo "el Sobrino" . El Adelantado was in the expedition of Juan de Grijalva and was with Hernán Cortés in the third expedition that eventually became
963-704: A great harbor the master pilot Miruelo knew of. Sometime during these two days, one of the five remaining ships was lost on the rugged coast, but nothing else is known of it. In 1697 French sailor Pierre Le Moyne d'Iberville was chosen by the Minister of Marine to lead an expedition to rediscover the mouth of the Mississippi River and to colonize Louisiana which the English coveted. D'Iberville's fleet sailed from Brest on October 24, 1698. On January 25, 1699, d'Iberville reached Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola founded by
1070-487: A lack of available oxygen. Occurrences of masculinization and estrogen suppression were observed as a result. An October 2007 study of the Atlantic croaker found a disproportioned sex ratio of 61% males to 39% females in hypoxic sites. This was compared with a 52% to 48% male-female ratio found in reference sites, showing an impairment of reproductive output for fish populations inhabiting hypoxic coastal zones. According to
1177-475: A large scale from many of the bays and sounds. Other important industries along the coast include shipping, petrochemical processing and storage, military use, paper manufacture, and tourism. The gulf's warm water temperature can feed powerful Atlantic hurricanes causing extensive human death and other destruction as happened with Hurricane Katrina in 2005. In the Atlantic, a hurricane will draw up cool water from
SECTION 10
#17330929108341284-572: A license to claim what is now the Gulf Coast of the United States, known as the Narváez expedition . The contract gave him one year to gather an army, leave Spain, be large enough to found at least two towns of 100 people each, and garrison two more fortresses anywhere along the coast. On April 7, 1528, they spotted land north of what is now Tampa Bay . They turned south and traveled for two days looking for
1391-559: A permanent cyclonic gyre in the Bay of Campeche, as well as anticyclonic gyres which are shed by the Loop Current and travel westward where they eventually dissipate. The Bay of Campeche constitutes a major arm of the Gulf of Mexico. Additionally, the gulf's shoreline is fringed by numerous bays and smaller inlets. Stream that empty into the gulf include the Mississippi River and the Rio Grande in
1498-549: A plant that was cultivated by the Maya and was an important food source for them. The origin of the first settlements has not been scientifically confirmed, although the presence of first humans in the area dates from the late Pleistocene or ice age (about 10,000–12,000 years), according to the findings in the Loltún caves and caverns of Tulum (Women of the Palms). The first Maya moved to
1605-422: A serious threat to marine life and adjacent coastal wetlands and to the livelihoods of Gulf Coast shrimpers and fishermen. Coast Guard Rear Admiral Sally Brice O'Hare stated that the U.S. government will be "employing booms, skimmers, chemical dispersants and controlled burns" to combat the oil spill. By May 1 the oil spill cleanup efforts were underway but hampered by rough seas and the "tea like" consistency of
1712-515: A strong recognition among the people of the state. The Caste War of Yucatán was a conflict that lasted from 1847 to 1901. It began with the revolt of native Maya people led by Maya chiefs Jacinto Pat and Cecilio Chi , against the population of European descent called "Yucatecos", who had political and economic control. A lengthy war ensued between the Yucateco forces in the north-west of the Yucatán and
1819-677: Is Mérida . Located on the northern part of the Yucatán Peninsula , it is bordered by the states of Campeche to the southwest and Quintana Roo to the southeast, with the Gulf of Mexico off its northern coast. Before the arrival of Spaniards , the peninsula was a very important region for the Maya civilization that reached the peak of its development here, where the Maya founded the cities of Chichen Itza , Izamal , Motul , Mayapan , Ek' Balam , and Ichkanzihóo (also called T'ho), now Mérida. After
1926-547: Is half the typical 40- kilometer (25 mi ) thickness of continental crust. It was at this time that rifting first created a connection to the Pacific Ocean across central Mexico and later eastward to the Atlantic Ocean. This flooded the opening basin to create an enclosed marginal sea. The subsiding transitional crust was blanketed by the widespread deposition of Louann Salt and associated anhydrite evaporites . During
2033-672: Is held every May. Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( Spanish : Golfo de México ) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean , mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States ; on the southwest and south by the Mexican states of Tamaulipas , Veracruz , Tabasco , Campeche , Yucatán , and Quintana Roo ; and on
2140-474: Is invested in the High Court of Justice of Yucatán and its district courts. The State of Yucatán is divided into 106 municipalities, each headed by a municipal president (mayor). Usually municipalities are named after the city that serves as municipal seat; e.g. the municipal seat of the municipality of Mérida is the city of Mérida . The 2024 local election in Yucatán was held on 2 June. Joaquín Díaz Mena
2247-566: Is roughly oval in shape and is approximately 810 nautical miles (1,500 km; 930 mi) wide. Its floor consists of sedimentary rocks and recent sediments. It is connected to part of the Atlantic Ocean through the Straits of Florida between the U.S. and Cuba, and with the Caribbean Sea via the Yucatán Channel between Mexico and Cuba. Because of its narrow connection to the Atlantic Ocean,
SECTION 20
#17330929108342354-419: Is widely disputed, and many historians doubt that it took place as described. In his letters, Vespucci described this trip, and once Juan de la Cosa returned to Spain, a famous world map was produced. In 1506 Hernán Cortés took part in the conquest of Hispaniola and Cuba, receiving a large estate of land and indigenous slaves for his effort. In 1510 he accompanied Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar , an aide of
2461-570: The Deepwater Horizon oil platform, located in the Mississippi Canyon about 40 miles (64 km) off the Louisiana coast, suffered a catastrophic explosion ; it sank a day and a half later. It was in the process of being sealed with concrete for temporary abandonment, to avoid environmental problems. Although initial reports indicated that relatively little oil had leaked, by April 24 it
2568-509: The 1824 constitution and federalism. Two years later, during the government of president José Joaquín de Herrera , Miguel Barbachano ordered the reinstatement of Yucatán to Mexico under the Constitution of Yucatán of 1825. A decisive factor for the reinstatement was the Caste War , which forced Yucatán to seek outside help. In 1852 due to internal struggles between opposing political factions,
2675-703: The Appalachian Mountains . It was created by the collision of continental plates that formed Pangaea. As interpreted by Roy Van Arsdale and Randel T. Cox, this mountain range was breached in the late Cretaceous by the formation of the Mississippi Embayment . The rifting that created the basin was associated with zones of weakness within Pangaea, including sutures where the Laurentia , South American , and African plates collided to create it. First, there
2782-507: The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement ) to help predict the potential impacts of future oil/gas explorations. Since 1979, the specimens have been deposited in the national collections of the National Museum of Natural History. The major environmental threats to the gulf are agricultural runoff and oil drilling . There are 27,000 abandoned oil and gas wells beneath
2889-561: The Cádiz Constitution and another led by Zavala, which sought outright independence from Spain. Mariano Carrillo Albornoz then Governor of Yucatán, sent Zavala and Manuel García Sosa as deputies of the Cortes of Cádiz to Madrid , while the other liberals were imprisoned. While this was happening in Yucatán, the Plan of Iguala was proclaimed in the current state of Guerrero (at that time part of
2996-512: The Federal Republic of United Mexican States on December 21, 1823. On March 16, 1841, as a result of cultural and political conflicts around the federal pact, Yucatán declared its independence from Mexico. forming a second Republic of Yucatán . Eventually on July 14, 1848, Yucatán was forced to rejoin Mexico. In 1858, in the middle of the Caste War of Yucatán , the state of Yucatán was divided for
3103-751: The Gulf of Mexico to the north and west. As a whole, the state is extremely flat with little or no topographic variation, with the exception of the Puuc hills, located in the southern portion of the state. The most widespread indigenous language of Yucatán is Yucatec Maya , spoken natively by approximately 800,000 people in Yucatán and adjacent Quintana Roo and Campeche, especially in rural areas. The Spanish spoken in Yucatán has lexical and some phonological borrowing from Mayan and employs many words of Mayan origin, such as purux ("fat"), tuch ("navel") and wixar ("urinate"). In 1905, 1,003 Korean immigrants – 802 men and 231 women and children – departed from
3210-632: The Mardi Gras sank around the early 19th century about 35 mi (56 km) off the coast of Louisiana in 4,000 feet (1,200 m) of water. She is believed to have been a privateer or trader. The shipwreck, whose real identity remains a mystery, lay forgotten at the bottom of the sea until it was discovered in 2002 by an oilfield inspection crew working for the Okeanos Gas Gathering Company (OGGC). In 2007 an expedition led by Texas A&M University and funded by OGGC under an agreement with
3317-543: The National Response Center , the oil industry has thousands of minor accidents in the Gulf of Mexico every year. In June 1979, the Ixtoc I oil platform in the Bay of Campeche suffered a blowout leading to a catastrophic explosion, which resulted in a massive oil spill that continued for nine months before the well was finally capped. This was the largest oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to date. On April 20, 2010,
Mecayapan - Misplaced Pages Continue
3424-569: The Old World ; they also had reason to expect that this new land would have gold . All of this encouraged two further expeditions, the first in 1518 under the command of Juan de Grijalva , and the second in 1519 under the command of Hernán Cortés , which led to the Spanish exploration, military invasion, and ultimately settlement and colonization known as the Conquest of Mexico . Hernández did not live to see
3531-790: The Spanish conquest of Yucatán (early 16th to late 17th centuries), the Yucatán Peninsula became a single administrative and political entity, the Captaincy General of Yucatán . Following Mexican independence in 1821 the local Governor proclaimed independence. Yucatán became part of the First Mexican Empire in December 1821. Following the collapse of the Empire in March 1823, the first Republic of Yucatán (founded in May 1823) voluntarily negotiated annexation to
3638-514: The Territory of Campeche was created. On April 29, 1863, during the government of Mexican President Benito Juárez , Campeche gained its current status as an independent state. The flag of Yucatán was raised on March 16, 1841. The period of the Republic of Yucatán was the only one in which the banner was officially used by the authorities of Yucatán. Rodolfo Menéndez de la Peña , historian, describes
3745-475: The euphotic zone . This attracts fish, shrimp, and squid. River drainage and atmospheric fallout from industrial coastal cities also provide nutrients to the coastal zone. The Gulf Stream , a warm Atlantic Ocean current and one of the strongest ocean currents known, originates in the gulf as a continuation of the Caribbean Current –Yucatán Current– Loop Current system. Other circulation features include
3852-598: The henequén plant (known as sosquil (maya: sos kí )) was manufactured into twine and rope, used in riggings, string, sacks, rugs, and many other items. It became the chief export item of the Yucatán, making many local families very wealthy. That wealth is today evident in the architecture of the colonial city of Mérida, as well as in the more than 150 haciendas that are spread throughout the Yucatán Peninsula. Korean immigration to Mexico began in 1905. The first Korean migrants settled in Yucatán as workers in henequen plantations. Labour brokers began advertising in newspapers in
3959-471: The "I do not understand" version was the friar Toribio de Benavente Motolinía . In his book Historia de los indios de la Nueva España ( History of the Indians of New Spain ) he says because talking with those Indians of the coast, whatever the Spanish asked the Indians responded: Tectetán, Tectetán which means I don't understand you, I don't understand you ; they corrupted the word, and not understanding what
4066-441: The 16th century. In 1513, Juan Ponce de León had already conquered the island of Borinquén (now Puerto Rico ) and had visited Florida. Antón de Alaminos , who was with Ponce de León on this latest discovery, suspected that west of Cuba they could find new land. Under their influence, Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar , supported by the governor of Cuba, organized an expedition commanded by Francisco Hernández de Córdoba to explore
4173-511: The 1960s, ending the region's comparative isolation. Today Yucatán still demonstrates a unique culture from the rest of Mexico, including its own style of food. Commercial jet airplanes began arriving in Mérida in the 1960s, and additional international airports were built first in Cozumel and then in the new planned resort community of Cancún in the 1980s, making tourism a major force in the economy of
4280-550: The Conquest of Yucatán. With that victory, the Spaniards consolidated their control of the western part of the peninsula. Francisco de Montejo "El Adelantado" appointed his nephew, Francisco de Montejo "el Sobrino", to head the conquest of the eastern Yucatán, which was achieved after many bloody battles, ending with the foundation of the city of Valladolid on May 28, 1543. Oppressive policies of inequality and prejudice were imposed on
4387-432: The Conquest of the Aztec Empire. He was subsequently appointed for the conquest of the Maya of Yucatán, but failed in his first attempt in 1527–28. In 1529 he was appointed Governor of Tabasco , with the order to pacify Tabasco and conquer Yucatán and Cozumel . From Tabasco, Montejo led a new campaign to Yucatán from the west (1531–35) and failed again in his attempt for conquest. Circa 1535, after many bloody battles with
Mecayapan - Misplaced Pages Continue
4494-539: The French commandant. The Gulf of Mexico's eastern, northern, and northwestern shores lie along the US states of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. The US portion of the coastline spans 1,680 miles (2,700 km), receiving water from 33 major rivers that drain 31 states and 2 Canadian provinces. The southwestern and southern shores lie along the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, and
4601-607: The Gulf of Mexico did not exist. Before the Late Triassic, the area consisted of dry land, which included continental crust that now underlies Yucatán , within the middle of the supercontinent Pangaea . This land lay south of a continuous mountain range that extended from north-central Mexico, through the Marathon Uplift in west Texas and the Ouachita Mountains of Oklahoma , and to Alabama where it linked directly to
4708-506: The Gulf of Mexico. Instead, the Spanish sailed into the Caribbean around Cuba and Hispaniola . The first alleged European exploration of the Gulf of Mexico was by Amerigo Vespucci in 1497. Vespucci is purported to have followed the coastal land mass of Central America before returning to the Atlantic Ocean via the Straits of Florida between Florida and Cuba. However, this first voyage of 1497
4815-420: The Indians said, they said: Yucatán is the name of this land ; and the same happened in a place, a cape, which they also called Cape Cotoch ; and Cotoch in that language means house . The third proposed explanation comes from Bernal Díaz del Castillo . In his book Historia verdadera de la conquista de la Nueva España ( True History of the Conquest of New Spain ), he says Yucatá means "land of yucas ",
4922-629: The Intendency of Mexico). On September 15, 1821, in the Hall of Councils of the City of Mérida, Yucatán declared its independence from Spain. Almost immediately, Governor Juan María Echeverri sent two representatives to negotiate the incorporation of Yucatán into the Mexican Empire . The incorporation took place on November 2, 1821. The Mexican Empire was quickly overthrown (1823) under the Plan of Casa Mata , and
5029-517: The Korean port city of Incheon in 1904 for workers willing to go to Mexico to work on henequen plantations for four- or five-year contracts. A total of more than one thousand were recruited and departed from Incheon on board a British cargo ship on 4 April 1905, despite efforts by the Korean government to block their departure. Once their contracts were up, most settled in Mexico, either continuing to work on henequen plantations or moving to various cities in
5136-669: The Minerals Management Service (now BOEM ) was launched to undertake the deepest scientific archaeological excavation ever attempted at that time to study the site on the seafloor and recover artifacts for eventual public display in the Louisiana State Museum . As part of the project educational outreach Nautilus Productions in partnership with BOEM, Texas A&M University, the Florida Public Archaeology Network and Veolia Environmental produced
5243-475: The Padre Island treasure. This loss, in combination with other ship disasters around the Gulf of Mexico, gave rise to a plan for establishing a settlement on the northern Gulf Coast to protect shipping and more quickly rescue castaways. As a result, the expedition of Tristán de Luna y Arellano was sent and landed at Pensacola Bay on August 15, 1559. On December 11, 1526, Charles V granted Pánfilo de Narváez
5350-632: The Peninsula circa 250 CE, from the Petén (today northern Guatemala ), to settle the southeastern peninsula in the modern Bacalar, Quintana Roo . In 525, the Chanés (Maya group that preceded the Itza ), moved to the east of the peninsula, founding Chichén Itzá , Izamal , Motul , Ek' Balam , Ichcaanzihó (modern Mérida) and Champotón .( Molina Solís 1896 , p. 33) Later, Tutul Xiúes , Toltec descent, who came from
5457-526: The Spanish; he sailed from there to Mobile Bay and explored Massacre Island, later renamed Dauphin Island . He cast anchor between Cat Island and Ship Island ; and on February 13 he went to the mainland, Biloxi , with his brother Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville . On May 1 he completed Fort Maurepas on the northeast side of the Bay of Biloxi. On May 4 d'Iberville sailed for France leaving his teenage brother, Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne , as second in command to
SECTION 50
#17330929108345564-415: The United States of America and the Republic of Cuba, of December 16, 1977. Mexico and United States: Treaty to resolve pending boundary differences and maintain the Rio Grande and Colorado River as the international boundary, of November 23, 1970; Treaty on maritime boundaries between the United States of America and the United Mexican States (Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean), of May 4, 1978, and treaty on
5671-416: The United States' total production. The International Hydrographic Organization defines the southeast limit of the Gulf of Mexico as: A line joining Cape Catoche Light ( 21°37′N 87°04′W / 21.617°N 87.067°W / 21.617; -87.067 ) with the Light on Cape San Antonio in Cuba, through this island to the meridian of 83°W and to the Northward along this meridian to
5778-496: The United States, in accordance with Mexico's domestic legislation. On March 13, 2009, the CLCS accepted Mexico's arguments for extending its continental shelf up to 350 nautical miles (650 km; 400 mi) into the Western Polygon. Since this would extend Mexico's continental shelf well into territory claimed by the United States, however, Mexico and the U.S. would need to enter a bilateral agreement based on international law that delimits their respective claims. A ship now called
5885-407: The Yucatan. The henequen grown in the Yucatan was used around the world for rope and twine, and became known as sisal rope, named after the seaside town of Sisal, from where the rope was shipped. Today Sisal is a sleepy fishing village, being rediscovered by locals and visitors as a beach location for vacation homes. The henequen industry provided financial autonomy to the isolated Yucatán. The fiber of
5992-419: The Yucatán Peninsula. The first Maya governor of Yucatán, Francisco Luna Kan , was elected in 1976. Today, the Yucatán Peninsula is a major tourism destination, as well as home to one of the largest indigenous populations in Mexico, the Maya people . The State of Yucatán is located on the Yucatán Peninsula . It borders the states of Campeche to the southwest, Quintana Roo to the east and southeast, and
6099-717: The attack. One officer, nine crewmen and 15 passengers were lost. The passengers aboard Robert E. Lee were primarily survivors of previous torpedo attacks by German U-boats. The wreck's location was discovered during the C & C Marine survey that located the U-166 . In 2001 the wreck of U-166 was found in 5,000 feet (1,500 m) of water, less than two miles (3.2 km) from where it had attacked Robert E. Lee . Various biota include chemosynthetic communities near cold seeps and non chemosynthetic communities such as bacteria and other micro- benthos , meiofauna , macrofauna , and megafauna (larger organisms such as crabs , sea pens , crinoids , demersal fish , cetaceans , and
6206-402: The basin expanded and deepened. Later, loading of the crust within the basin and adjacent coastal plain by the accumulation of kilometers of sediments during the rest of the Mesozoic and all of the Cenozoic further depressed the underlying crust to its current position about 10–20 km (6.2–12.4 mi) below sea level. Particularly during the Cenozoic, a time of relative stability for
6313-421: The basin experienced a period of cooling and subsidence of the crust underlying it. The subsidence was the result of a combination of crustal stretching, cooling, and loading. Initially, the combination of crustal stretching and cooling caused about 5–7 km (3.1–4.3 mi) of tectonic subsidence of the central thin transitional and oceanic crust. Because subsidence occurred faster than sediment could fill it,
6420-505: The capital of Yucatán State. It allowed the city of Mérida to install street lights and a tram system even before Mexico City . It is said that in the early 20th century, the city had the largest number of millionaires per capita in the world. Today, Paseo de Montejo (inspired by the Parisian avenue Champs-Élysées ), is lined with the elegant houses built during that time. These houses are mostly now renovated and serve as everything from private homes to banks, hotels and restaurants. Many of
6527-427: The center of New Spain , especially from Mexico City , Yucatán was not militarily affected by the Mexican War of Independence, though the influence was felt in other ways. In 1820 Lorenzo de Zavala, member of Sanjuanistas (a group of creoles who met at the church of San Juan in downtown Mérida), created the Patriotic Confederation , which eventually divided into two groups: the supporters of the Spanish government under
SECTION 60
#17330929108346634-410: The coast of the Gulf of Mexico , settled in the region causing displacement of the Itza and Cocomes—a diversified branch of Itzá—and finally, after years and many battles, the League of Mayapan (composed of the Itza, the Xiús and Cocomes) was formed, which eventually disintegrated circa 1194, giving way to a period of anarchy and fragmentation into small domains which the Spanish conquistadors found in
6741-421: The coast, most notably at the Florida and Yucatán Peninsulas. The shelf is exploited for its oil by means of offshore drilling rigs, most of which are situated in the western gulf and in the Bay of Campeche. Another important commercial activity is fishing; major catches include red snapper , amberjack , tilefish , swordfish , and various grouper , as well as shrimp and crabs. Oysters are also harvested on
6848-432: The coastal zones, thick clastic wedges built out the continental shelf along the northwestern and northern margins of the basin. To the east, the stable Florida Platform was not covered by the sea until the latest Jurassic or the beginning of Cretaceous time. The Yucatán Platform was emergent until the mid-Cretaceous. After both platforms were submerged, the formation of carbonates and evaporites has characterized
6955-405: The conflict, on November 24, 1902, Yucatán had a second territorial division when Porfirio Díaz decreed the creation of the Federal Territory of Quintana Roo , with capital in the port of Payo Obispo (today Chetumal ). In little more than half a century, Yucatán lost more than two thirds of its original territory. In the late 19th century, the henequen industry grew to unprecedented power in
7062-418: The continuation of his work: he died in 1517, the year of his expedition, as the result of the injuries and the extreme thirst suffered during the voyage, and disappointed in the knowledge that Diego Velázquez had given precedence to Grijalva as the captain of the next expedition to Yucatán. In 1523, a treasure ship was wrecked en route at Padre Island , Texas. When word of the disaster reached Mexico City,
7169-437: The country. Hundreds of prosperous haciendas abounded in the state until the advent of synthetic products after World War II, the cultivation of henequén in other parts of the world and the self-serving actions of some of the leading henequen-growing families led to the gradual decline of the Yucatan's monopoly on the industry. The great influx of wealth during that period from the henequen industry focused mainly on Mérida,
7276-482: The delimitation of the continental shelf in the western Gulf of Mexico beyond 200 nautical miles (370 km; 230 mi), of June 9, 2000. On December 13, 2007, Mexico submitted information to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) regarding the extension of Mexico's continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles. Mexico sought an extension of its continental shelf in the Western Polygon based on international law, UNCLOS, and bilateral treaties with
7383-401: The depths and making it less likely that further hurricanes will follow in its wake (warm water being one of the preconditions necessary for their formation). However, the gulf is shallower; when a hurricane passes over the water temperature may drop but it soon rebounds and becomes capable of supporting another tropical storm. From 1970 to 2020, surface temperatures warmed at approximately twice
7490-472: The explosion destroyed the #3 hold, vented through the B and C decks and damaged the engines, the radio compartment and the steering gear. After the attack she was under escort by USS PC-566 , captained by Lieutenant Commander Herbert G. Claudius, en route to New Orleans . PC-566 began dropping depth charges on a sonar contact, sinking U-166 . The badly damaged Robert E. Lee first listed to port then to starboard and finally sank within about 15 minutes of
7597-542: The extinct Caribbean monk seal ) are living in the Gulf of Mexico. Recently, resident Bryde's whales within the gulf were classified as an endemic, unique subspecies and making them as one of the most endangered whales in the world. The Gulf of Mexico yields more fish, shrimp, and shellfish annually than the south and mid-Atlantic , Chesapeake , and New England areas combined. The Smithsonian Institution Gulf of Mexico holdings are expected to provide an important baseline of understanding for future scientific studies on
7704-557: The first time, establishing Campeche as a separate state (officially in 1863). During the Porfiriato , in 1902, the state of Yucatán was divided again to form the Federal territory that later became the present state of Quintana Roo . Before the arrival of Spaniards in the Yucatán Peninsula, the name of this region was Mayab . In the Yucatec Maya language, mayab means "flat", and is
7811-445: The flag of Yucatán: "The flag of Yucatán was divided into two parts: green on left, the right, with three divisions, red up and down and white in the middle. In the green field highlighted, five stars, symbolizing the five departments that Yucatan was divided by decree of November 30, 1840: Mérida, Izamal, Valladolid, Tekax and Campeche." The flag did not have official recognition in the state until August 2024, however, it maintained
7918-535: The geologic history of these two stable areas. Most of the basin was rimmed during the early Cretaceous by carbonate platforms, and its western flank was involved during the latest Cretaceous and early Paleogene periods in a compressive deformation episode, the Laramide Orogeny , which created the Sierra Madre Oriental of eastern Mexico. In 2014, Erik Cordes of Temple University and others discovered
8025-511: The government of Yucatán, like the government of every other state in Mexico, consists of three powers : the executive, the legislative and the judiciary . Executive power rests in the governor of Yucatán , who is directly elected by the citizens, using a secret ballot, to a six-year term with no possibility of reelection. Legislative power rests in the Congress of Yucatán which is a unicameral legislature composed of 25 deputies. Judicial power
8132-510: The governor of Hispaniola, in his expedition to conquer Cuba. In 1518 Velázquez put him in command of an expedition to explore and secure the interior of Mexico for colonization. In 1517 Francisco Hernández de Córdoba discovered the Yucatán Peninsula. This was the first European encounter with an advanced civilization in the Americas , with solidly built buildings and a complex social organization which they recognized as being comparable to those of
8239-511: The greatest depth of 12,467 feet in the Sigsbee Deep . Seven main areas are given as: As early as the Maya civilization , the Gulf of Mexico was used as a trade route off the coast of the Yucatán Peninsula and present-day Veracruz . Although the Spanish voyage of Christopher Columbus was credited with the discovery of the Americas by Europeans, the ships in his four voyages did not reach
8346-429: The gulf experiences very small tidal ranges . The size of the gulf basin is approximately 1.6 million km (620,000 sq mi). Almost half of the basin consists of shallow continental shelf waters. The volume of water in the basin is roughly 2.4 × 10 cubic kilometers (5.8 × 10 cubic miles). The gulf is one of the most important offshore petroleum production regions in the world, making up one-sixth of
8453-493: The gulf's first such study estimated concentrations that rival the highest globally reported. There are frequent " red tide " algae blooms that kill fish and marine mammals and cause respiratory problems in humans and some domestic animals when the blooms reach close to shore. This has especially been plaguing the southwest and southern Florida coast, from the Florida Keys to north of Pasco County, Florida . The gulf contains
8560-506: The gulf. These have generally not been checked for potential environmental problems. In 1973 the United States Environmental Protection Agency prohibited the dumping of undiluted chemical waste by manufacturing interests into the gulf, and the military confessed to similar behavior in waters off Horn Island . Microplastics within semi-enclosed seas like the gulf have been reported in high concentrations, and
8667-427: The haciendas today have also been renovated and now serve as private homes, event venues and upscale luxury hotels. Until the mid-20th century most of Yucatán's contact with the outside world was by sea; trade with the US and Cuba, as well as Europe and other Caribbean islands, was more significant than that with the rest of Mexico. In the 1950s Yucatán was linked to the rest of Mexico by railway, followed by highway in
8774-461: The heart of the henequen zone, was a destination for many of the Korean immigrants. Subsequently, in 1909, at the end of their contracts, they began a new stage in which they scattered even further. Thus, the majority of those who came were single men who made or remade their family lives with Yucatecan especially Maya women. While Korean girls were much more subject to marriages arranged by Korean parents, males had greater freedom when it came to making
8881-480: The impact of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill . In Congressional testimony, Dr. Jonathan Coddington, associate director of Research and Collections at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History , provides a detailed overview of the Gulf collections and their sources which Museum staff have made available on an online map. The samples were collected for years by the former Minerals Management Service (renamed
8988-466: The independent Maya in the south-east. It officially ended with the occupation of the Maya capital of Chan Santa Cruz by the Mexican army in 1901, although skirmishes with villages and small settlements that refused to acknowledge Mexican control continued for over another decade. Adam Jones wrote: "This ferocious race war featured genocidal atrocities on both sides, with up to 200,000 killed." Because of
9095-473: The late Jurassic, continued rifting widened the basin and progressed to the point that seafloor spreading and formation of oceanic crust occurred. At this point, sufficient circulation with the Atlantic Ocean was established that the deposition of Louann Salt ceased. Seafloor spreading stopped at the end of the Jurassic, about 145–150 million years ago. During the late Jurassic through early Cretaceous,
9202-503: The latitude of the South point of the Dry Tortugas (24°35'N), along this parallel Eastward to Rebecca Shoal (82°35'W) thence through the shoals and Florida Keys to the mainland at the eastern end of Florida Bay and all the narrow waters between the Dry Tortugas and the mainland being considered to be within the Gulf. The consensus among geologists is that before the late Triassic ,
9309-495: The native Maya by the Spanish colonial government. In November 1761, Jacinto Canek , a Maya from the town of Cisteil (now located in Yaxcabá Municipality ), led an armed uprising against the government, which was quickly put down. Captured insurgents were taken to Mérida , where they were tried and tortured. As a warning to the population against rebellion, Cisteil was burned and covered with salt. This abortive rebellion
9416-535: The natives, he reached the complete pacification of the Province of Tabasco and began planning his new foray to Yucatán. El Adelantado was appointed governor of Honduras and then of Chiapas . Therefore, he gave his son "El Mozo", the mission to consummate the conquest of Yucatán. Francisco de Montejo y León "el Mozo" founded the cities of San Francisco de Campeche on October 4, 1540, and Mérida on January 6, 1542 (in honor of Mérida , Extremadura). The city of Mérida
9523-453: The northern gulf, and the Grijalva and Usumacinta rivers in the southern gulf. The land that forms the gulf's coast, including many long, narrow barrier islands, is almost uniformly low-lying and is characterized by marshes and swamps as well as stretches of sandy beach. The Gulf of Mexico is an excellent example of a passive margin . The continental shelf is quite wide at most points along
9630-416: The northernmost tip of Quintana Roo. The Mexican coastline spans 1,743 miles (2,805 km). On its southeast quadrant, the gulf is bordered by Cuba. It supports major American, Mexican and Cuban fishing industries. The outer margins of the wide continental shelves of Yucatán and Florida receive cooler, nutrient-enriched waters from the deep by a process known as upwelling , which stimulates plankton growth in
9737-458: The oil. Cleanup operations were resumed after conditions became favorable. On May 27 the USGS had revised the estimate of the leak from 5,000 barrels per day (790 m /d) to 12,000–19,000 barrels per day (3,000 m /d) an increase from earlier estimates. On July 15 BP announced that the leak had stopped for the first time in 88 days. In July BP reached an $ 18.7bn settlement with the U.S. government,
9844-653: The past three decades in the region. According to the September 11, 2006 issue of The Tampa Tribune , earthquake tremors were last felt in Florida in 1952, recorded in Quincy , 20 miles (32 km) northwest of Tallahassee . Cuba and Mexico: Exchange of notes constituting an agreement on the delimitation of the exclusive economic zone of Mexico in the sector adjacent to Cuban maritime areas (with map), of July 26, 1976. Cuba and United States: Maritime boundary agreement between
9951-555: The port of Chemulpo , Incheon, aboard the ship Ilford to Salina Cruz, Oaxaca. The journey took 45 days, after which they took a train to Coatzacoalcos , Veracruz. At Coatzacoalcos, another boat was taken to the port of Progreso , with the final destination being the city of Mérida. They arrived in May 1905, with previously signed contracts for four years' work as indentured laborers on the Yucatán henequen haciendas. Many of these Koreans were distributed throughout Yucatán in 32 henequen haciendas. The town of Motul , Yucatán, located in
10058-631: The provinces of the erstwhile empire became independent states. The first Republic of Yucatán, declared on May 29, 1823, joined the Federal Republic of the United Mexican States as the Federated Republic of Yucatán on December 23, 1823. The second Republic of Yucatán emerged when the federal pact signed by Yucatán and endorsed in the Constitution of Yucatán of 1825 was broken by the centralist government of Mexico from 1835. In 1841
10165-469: The rate observed for the global ocean surface. The gulf is considered aseismic ; however, mild tremors have been recorded throughout history (usually 5.0 or less on the Richter magnitude scale ). Earthquakes may be caused by interactions between sediment loading on the sea floor and adjustment by the crust. On September 10, 2006, the U.S. Geological Survey National Earthquake Information Center reported that
10272-463: The sea about 97 miles (156 km) south of Port Fourchon , Louisiana , according to the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement. Yucat%C3%A1n Yucatán , officially the Free and Sovereign State of Yucatán , is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City , constitute the 32 federal entities of Mexico . It comprises 106 separate municipalities , and its capital city
10379-503: The seas west of the island. This expedition sailed from port of Ajaruco on February 8, 1517, to La Habana and after circling the island and sailing southwest by what is now known as the Yucatán Channel , the expedition made landfall at the Yucatán Peninsula on March 1. There are discrepancies about where the first explorers arrived. Some say it was in Isla Mujeres . Bernal Díaz del Castillo places it at Cabo Catoche , where they saw
10486-462: The source of the word "Maya" itself. The name Yucatán, also assigned to the peninsula , came from early explorations of the Conquistadors from Europe. Three different explanations for the origin of the name have been proposed. The first two state that the name resulted from confusion between the Maya inhabitants and the first Spanish explorers around 1517: Probably the first person to propose
10593-403: The southeast by Cuba . The Southern U.S. states of Texas , Louisiana , Mississippi , Alabama , and Florida , which border the gulf on the north, are often referred to as the " Third Coast " of the United States (in addition to its Atlantic and Pacific coasts). The Gulf of Mexico took shape approximately 300 million years ago as a result of plate tectonics . The Gulf of Mexico basin
10700-422: The state of Tabasco decreed its separation from Mexico and Miguel Barbachano , then governor of Yucatán, sent a commission headed by Justo Sierra O'Reilly to meet with Tabasco authorities to propose the creation of an independent federal republic from Mexico formed by the two states. The idea failed when Tabasco rejoined Mexico in 1842. On August 22, 1846, Mexican interim president José Mariano Salas restored
10807-409: The states of Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, as well as 400 local authorities. As of 2015 BP's cost for the clean-up, environmental and economic damages and penalties has reached $ 54bn. On May 12, 2016, a release of oil from subsea infrastructure on Shell's Brutus oil rig released 2,100 barrels of oil. This leak created a visible 2 by 13 miles (3.2 by 20.9 km) oil slick in
10914-490: The viceroy requested a rescue fleet and sent Ángel de Villafañe from Mexico City, marching overland to find the treasure-laden vessels. Villafañe traveled to Pánuco and hired a ship to transport him to the site, which had already been visited from that community. He arrived in time to greet García de Escalante Alvarado (a nephew of Pedro de Alvarado ), commander of the salvage operation, when Alvarado arrived by sea on July 22, 1554. The team labored until September 12 to salvage
11021-434: Was a late Triassic–early Jurassic phase of rifting during which rift valleys formed and filled with continental red beds . Second, as rifting progressed through early and middle Jurassic times, the continental crust was stretched and thinned. This thinning created a broad zone of transitional crust, which displays modest and uneven thinning with block faulting and a broad zone of uniformly thinned transitional crust, which
11128-462: Was claimed by BP that approximately 1,000 barrels (160 m ) of oil per day were issuing from the wellhead , about 1-mile (1.6 km) below the surface on the ocean floor. On April 29, the U.S. government revealed that approximately 5,000 barrels (790 m ) per day, five times the original estimate, were pouring into the gulf from the wellhead. The resulting oil slick quickly expanded to cover hundreds of square miles of ocean surface, posing
11235-535: Was elected to succeed Mauricio Vila Dosal as governor. Newspapers of Yucatán include: Artículo 7 , De Peso (Mérida) , Diario de Yucatán , La I Noticias para Mí Mérida , Milenio Novedades (Antes El Mundo al Día) , and Por Esto! (Yucatán). Yucatecan food is its own unique style and is very different from what most people would consider Mexican food. It includes influences from the local Maya culture, as well as Caribbean, European (Spanish), (North) African, and Middle Eastern cultures, as well as influence from
11342-410: Was founded over the ruins of the Maya city of Ichkanzihóo (T'ho) and the stones of old Maya buildings were used for the new buildings. Later, government powers were changed from Santa María de la Victoria , Tabasco, to Mérida on June 11, 1542. The newly founded Mérida was besieged by the Maya troops of Nachi Cocom (overlord or 'Halach uinik' in Yucatec Maya language ). It was a definitive battle for
11449-463: Was not of great consequence to the colonial regime, but it marked the history of the peninsula and clearly delineated anti-colonial tensions in the region. The uprising was a precursor to the social upheaval that would explode less than a century later, as the Caste War . The Canek rebellion is remembered today as a symbol of the racial and social conflict that predominated for centuries in the Spanish colonies. Because of its geographical remoteness from
#833166