<P> The Gulf of Mexico ( Spanish : Golfo de México ) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean , largely 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 Mexico , and on the southeast by Cuba . The U.S. states of Texas , Louisiana , Mississippi , Alabama , and Florida border the Gulf on the north , which are often referred to as the `` Third Coast '' , in comparison with the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific coasts . </P>
<P> The Gulf of Mexico ( Spanish : Golfo de México ) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean , largely 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 Mexico , and on the southeast by Cuba . The U.S. states of Texas , Louisiana , Mississippi , Alabama , and Florida border the Gulf on the north , which are often referred to as the `` Third Coast '' , in comparison with the U.S. Atlantic and Pacific coasts . </P>
is the gulf of mexico an ocean or sea
is the gulf of mexico an ocean or sea
a marginal sea
a marginal sea