Why or Why not is the Gulf of Mexico an ocean?

Question

i know it isnt an ocean but i need to know why it isn't.

Answer 1

The Gulf of Mexico is not an ocean because it is a "GULF".../

Answer 2

Because when they were naming New World features, they

were thinking big.

(It doesn't deserve the term ocean, it's too bounded by one

continuous land-mass, but 'Sea` at least, would be proper.)

Since the names are already on the map it's a "Gulf',

and that's all there is to it.

Answer 3

Great question! Actually the Gulf of Mexico is considered a sea and a section of the Atlantic Ocean. IT is the ninth largest body of water in the world. Considered a smaller part of the Atlantic Ocean, it is an ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. The shape of its basin is roughly oval and approximately 810 nautical miles (1,500 km) wide and filled with sedimentary rocks and debris. It is part of the Atlantic Ocean through the Florida Straits between the U.S. and Cuba, and with the Caribbean Sea (with which it forms the American Mediterranean Sea) via the Yucatan Channel between Mexico and Cuba. Tidal ranges are extremely small due to the narrow connection with the ocean. The gulf basin is approximately 615,000m (1.6 million km). Almost half of the basin is shallow inter tidal waters. At its deepest it is 14,383 ft (4,384 m) at the Sigsbee Deep, an irregular trough more than 300 nautical miles (550 km) long. It was probably formed approximately 300 million years ago as a result of the sea floor sinking. There is evidence that the Chicxulub Crater was formed when a large meteorite hit the earth 65 million years ago which may have led to the Cretaceous–Tertiary extinction event. Geographically speaking, the Gulf of Mexico is not an independent ocean but rather a part of the Atlantic.That is the reason why its not considered a separate ocean. I hope this helps, :P