The Gulf of Mexico basin appears to have formed ~200 million years ago as the result of rifting within North America as the supercontinent known as Pangea began to break up. Rifting and the accompanying formation of “stretched” or “transitional” continental crust took several tens of millions of years.

Facts you didn’t know about the Gulf of Mexico

1. When was Gulf of Mexico named The Gulf of Mexico? It was first named so on a Mercator map in 1569. That would be 38 years before the Jamestown colony was formed; 207 years before the founding of the United States of America; and 238 years before the USA owned any land on the Gulf of Mexico with the Louisiana Purchase.
2. Are there sharks in the Gulf of Mexico? Species like Atlantic blacktip, spinner, and Atlantic sharpnose sharks can be abundant in the Southeast’s and Gulf of Mexico’s nearshore waters. In the Caribbean Sea, tiger, hammerhead, and Caribbean reef sharks are often seen.
3. Why is the sand white in the Gulf of Mexico? That’s the result of pure, white quartz crystal that washed down from the Appalachian Mountains and was deposited in the Gulf of Mexico. According to Dr. Stephen P. Leatherman, director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University, the sandy bottom of the gulf on the south and west coast of Florida as opposed to the heavily silt lapse.
4. How deep is the deepest part of Gulf of Mexico. The deepest part of the Gulf of Mexico, Sigsbee Deep, is estimated to be around 14,383 feet deep while the average depth is around 5,300 feet.
5. Why is the Gulf of Mexico so clear? This is due to the current and outflow of the Mississippi River. The other contributing factor is the sandy bottom of the gulf on the south and west coast of Florida as opposed to the heavily silt lapse.
6. What ocean is under the Gulf of Mexico? The Gulf of Mexico is a 218,000 square mile semi-enclosed, oceanic basin connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the Straits of Florida and to the Caribbean Sea by the Yucatan Channel.
7. Is it incorrect to call the Gulf of Mexico an ocean? No, the Gulf of Mexico is not considered an ocean. It is a partially landlocked body of water bordered by the United States, Mexico, and Cuba. It is connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Straits of Florida.

Source: ncesc.com

In a controversial move that inspires charges of Eastern domination of the West, Congress establishes Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming.

Home to some of the most stunning alpine scenery in the United States, the territory in and around Grand Teton National Park also has a colorful human history. The first Anglo-American to see the saw-edged Teton peaks is believed to be John Colter. After traveling with Lewis and Clark to the Pacific, Colter left the expedition during its return trip down the Missouri in 1807 to join two fur trappers headed back into the wilderness. He spent the next three years wandering through the northern Rocky Mountains, eventually finding his way into the valley at the base of the Tetons, which would later be called Jackson Hole.

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On this day in 1919, President Woodrow Wilson officially designated the Grand Canyon as a national park. The geological wonder would go on to become one of America’s most popular tourist attractions. Located in northwestern Arizona, the Grand Canyon is the product of millions of years of excavation by the mighty Colorado River. The chasm runs exceptionally deep, dropping more than a mile into the earth, and is 15 miles across at its widest point. The canyon is home to more than 1,500 plant species and over 500 animal species, many of them endangered or unique to the area, and its steep, multi-colored walls tell the story of two billion years of Earth’s history.

history.com

 

1992 – Dr. Mae Carol Jemison became the first African-American woman in space. She was the payload specialist aboard the space shuttle Endeavor. Also onboard were Mission Specialist N. Jan Davis and Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Mark C. Lee. They were the first married couple to fly together in space. And, Mamoru Mohri became the first Japanese person to fly into space. 

Black History … American History

1815 – Napoleon Bonaparte escaped from the Island of Elba. He then began his second conquest of France.

1848 – The second French Republic was proclaimed.

1863 – U.S. President Lincoln signed the National Currency Act.

1870 – In New York City, the first pneumatic-powered subway line was opened to the public. (Beach Pneumatic Transit)

1881 – S.S. Ceylon began his world-wide cruise, beginning in Liverpool, England.

1907 – The U.S. Congress raised their own pay to $7500.

1916 – Mutual signed Charlie Chaplin to a film contract.

1919 – In Arizona, the Grand Canyon was established as a National Park with an act of the U.S. Congress.

1929 – U.S. President Coolidge signed a bill creating the Grand Teton National Park.

1930 – New York City installed traffic lights.

1933 – A ground-breaking ceremony was held at Crissy Field for the Golden Gate Bridge.

1945 – In the U.S., a nationwide midnight curfew went into effect.

1952 – British Prime Minister Winston Churchill announced that Britain had developed an atomic bomb.

1957 – The Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award was established by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

1979 – “Flatbush” debuted on CBS-TV.

1986 – Corazon Aquino was inaugurated president of the Philippines. Long time President Ferdinand Marcos went into exile.

1987 – The Tower Commission rebuked U.S. President Reagan for failing to control his national security staff in the wake of the Iran-Contra affair.

1987 – The U.S.S.R. conducted its first nuclear weapons test after a 19-month moratorium period.

1991 – Iraqi President Saddam Hussein announced on Baghdad Radio that Iraqi troops were being withdrawn from Kuwait.

1993 – Six people were killed and more than a thousand injured when a van exploded in the parking garage beneath the World Trade Center in New York City. The bomb had been built by Islamic extremists.

1995 – Barings PLC collapsed after a securities dealer lost more than $1.4 billion by gambling on Tokyo stock prices. The company was Britain’s oldest investment banking firm.

1998 – A Texas jury rejected an $11 million lawsuit by Texas cattlemen who blamed Oprah Winfrey for price drop after on-air comment about mad-cow disease.

1998 – In Oregon, a health panel rules that taxpayers must help to pay for doctor-assisted suicides.

2001 – A U.N. tribunal convicted Bosnian Croat political leader Dario Kordic and military commander Mario Cerkez of war crimes. They had ordered the systematic murder and persecution of Muslim civilians during the Bosnian war.

2002 – In Rome, Italy, a bomb exploded near the Interior Ministry. No injuries were reported.

2009 – Former Serbian president Milan Milutinovic was acquitted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia regarding war crimes during the Kosovo War.

2009 – The Pentagon reveresed its 18-year policy of not allowing media to cover returning war dead. The reversal allowsd some media coverage with family approval.

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