Talk:Gulf of Mexico

People are just saying "It's the Gulf of America!" so much on this talk page and reverting these messages doesn't prevent this from happening permanently. Please permanently semi-protect this talk page. Georgia guy (talk) 17:28, 31 March 2026 (UTC)

It might be better to post this at WP:RFP. But regardless, it seems the page is already semi-protected? Turnagra (talk) 19:08, 31 March 2026 (UTC)

Turnagra, I mean semi-protect the talk page; not the same as semi-protecting the article. Georgia guy (talk) 19:23, 31 March 2026 (UTC)

Oh of course, my apologies - I was clearly still waking up when I read your message! My point about requesting it over there probably still stands, though. Turnagra (talk) 20:24, 31 March 2026 (UTC)

@Georgia guy It's the same process though. Talk pages can be discussed. – The Grid (talk) 20:32, 31 March 2026 (UTC)

I have not done this at RfP, as these kind of requests have died down over the last month. With one exception the last discussions were about different topics, and we don't want to curtail these (productive) discussions. Also see WP:ATPROT. Lectonar (talk) 09:02, 13 April 2026 (UTC)

In the Extent section the article cites the IHO’s Limits of Oceans and Seas (S-23) to define the boundaries of the Gulf, including the eastern limit at approximately 83°W. However, the Population section includes Havana among Gulf coastal cities. Since Havana (~82.4°W) lies east of that line, it would fall outside the Gulf of Mexico under the same IHO definition used elsewhere in the article. This seems to be an internal inconsistency: the article adopts the IHO boundary in one section but not in another? Should the population figures be revised to match the cited sources, or alternatively, should the section clarify that it is using a broader or informal definition of the Gulf? —Yazle (talk) 20:28, 6 April 2026 (UTC)

Wikipedia follows a WP:NPOV, IHO defines the border as west of Havana but NOAA and I am sure others consider Havana to be a coastal city of the Gulf of Mexico. It is in a somewhat fuzzy area as to what it is called, maybe a local source would be nice to include. But to answer your question, it is ok sometimes reliable sources are contradictory. EulerianTrail (talk) 21:48, 6 April 2026 (UTC)

Why is NOAA's definition more important than IHO's, the Gulf is an international body of water shared by three countries. The official definition of one of those countries should not be above the others. Yazle (talk) 03:59, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

I am not saying one definition is more important than another. Wikipedia is independent and reports multiple viewpoints. EulerianTrail (talk) 06:40, 7 April 2026 (UTC)

@The Grid you added an update needed tag. What do you want updated? EulerianTrail (talk) 03:32, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

@EulerianTrail: Hello! I saw the section mentioned Rita and Wilma from 2005, and there have been several storms since then that can expand the section further. Off the top of my head, there's been Ian (2022), Irma (2017), and Milton (2024) that intensified in a similar manner with the Loop Current. I know some of the articles include studies to help expand it. There's also the hottest ocean temperature record in Manatee Bay from July 2023 to mention (I don't know if NOAA validated it after the announcement). Here's another article talking about Gulf of Mexico

I do see there might be some overlap from the Hydrology section. – The Grid (talk) 16:06, 9 April 2026 (UTC)

Note that Manatee Bay is more closely connected to the Atlantic Ocean (through Barnes Sound, Card Sound and Biscayne Bay) than to the Gulf of Mexico (through Barnes Sound, various creeks and sounds, and Florida Bay). Donald Albury 15:36, 12 April 2026 (UTC) Correction. - Donald Albury 15:41, 12 April 2026 (UTC)

I was wondering that as well when looking up the location but that's why I also posted the second link about the temperatures in the gulf. The bay has to at least be affected by the Florida Current. – The Grid (talk) 12:38, 14 April 2026 (UTC)

Manatee Bay is shallow and really quite isolated, with little turnover in its water, as indicated by the salinity at times reaching 45 ppt, almost 30% above the average 35 ppt of the open ocean (despite the fresh water reaching it from the drainage canal). I assume that the temperature of the water in the bay is affected almost entirely by air temperature and solar exposure, and has very little to do with the temperature of any open water. The high temperature made click-bait headlines, but I don't see any real connection with temperatures in the Gulf or the Atlantic beyond that all are getting warmer due to climate change. Donald Albury 14:00, 14 April 2026 (UTC)

I'd like to propose changing:

The six Mexican states that face the gulf have a total population of 19.1 million people. [...] Three provinces of northwest Cuba, including Havana, border on the gulf, have a combined population of 3,211,000.

To:

The six Mexican states that face the gulf have a total population of 19.1 million people. Major cities along the Mexican gulf coast include Tampico, Tamaulipas; Veracruz, Veracruz; Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz; Villahermosa, Tabasco; Ciudad del Carmen, Campeche; Campeche, Campeche; and Mérida, Yucatán. [...] Three provinces of northwest Cuba—Pinar del Río, Artemisa, and La Habana-border on the gulf, with a combined population of 3,211,000. The largest city on the Cuban gulf coast is Havana.

This also names the three Cuban provinces explicitly (the current text just says "including Havana" without naming the other two). Sources would be INEGI's "México en Cifras" for the Mexican cities and Britannica's Cuba entry for Havana. Happy to provide full wikitext with refs if there's support. Augustradjoe (talk) 05:29, 12 April 2026 (UTC)

Why, this just adds words. Slatersteven (talk) 09:41, 12 April 2026 (UTC)

If we're listing major American cities, we should be consistent and do similar for other countries. The population section in general definitely needs expansion, and I think what's proposed is a good start - though I'd probably omit the states for the city names (and remove them from the American examples already in the article). Turnagra (talk) 10:38, 12 April 2026 (UTC)

Or remove the US ones, which seems to be what we should. Are the US ones worthy of inclusion? Slatersteven (talk) 10:51, 12 April 2026 (UTC)

I believe this information is relevant and must be included, but for every surrounding major center of population. Augustradjoe (talk) 11:26, 12 April 2026 (UTC)

I agree with Slatersteven. The cited source only lists counties and not any specific city. Of those listed, Houston is 50 miles inland from Galveston, and New Orleans is 75 miles up the Mississippi River from Venice. Mobile is in Mobile Bay some ways north of the barrier islands, and Pensacola is also technically in Pensacola Bay. If we included Mobile and Pensacola, why not Tampa? Corpus Christi, Biloxi, Havana, and Cancún are absent, but I think those actually have city limits that extend to the water. @Augustradjoe, why not work on a map instead of putting in this into a prose list? @Ahecht: I hope it's okay to ping you for input (as the author of the infobox map). Rjjⁱⁱⁱ (talk) 15:26, 12 April 2026 (UTC)

For the map, I was mainly just copying the previous image which was weirdly distorted and didn't show relative sizes properly since it was a perspective view. The cities mainly seem to be chosen for even distribution, not notability or encyclopedic value. --Ahecht (TALK
PAGE) 23:01, 12 April 2026 (UTC)

to CUBIC hectometers per second (not just hectometers per second). Or just omit the definition, which is correct in its own article anyway ~2026-24630-10 (talk) 14:37, 29 April 2026 (UTC)