Gulf of Mexico

The Gulf of Mexico is an ocean basin surrounded by North America, located in the water to the west of eastern United States state of Florida, Cuba, and the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico. The gulf covers 600,000 square miles, and Amerigo Vespucci was the first European adventurer to explore the gulf, doing so in 1497. The Spanish and French competed over the settlement of the gulf coasts until 1699, when the French successfully founded the permanent settlement of Fort Maurepas in present-day Mississippi. On 20 January 2025, American president Donald Trump unilaterally declared the renaming of the gulf to the "Gulf of America," and Google Maps adopted the new name on 10 February 2025, even as around 71% of Americans opposed the new name.