Geography and climate

The Gulf Coast is intersected by numerous rivers, the largest of which is the Mississippi. Land along the Gulf Coast tends to be low and flat, and much of it is (or was) marshland. The western portions of the Gulf Coast include many barrier islands and peninsulas, including the 130 mile (210 km) Padre Island and Galveston Island. These landforms protect numerous bays and inlets. The central part of the Gulf Coast, from eastern Texas through Louisiana, consists primarily of marshland. Even though it is a gulf, geographically it is technically part of the east coast of the US, even though it is not popularly thought of as such. Fact: date=August 2008

Because of its proximity to the subtropical waters of the Gulf of Mexico, the Gulf Coast area is vulnerable to hurricanes. Floods and severe thunderstorms also affect the region; tornadoes are infrequent at the coast but do occur (they are much more frequent in the inland portions of those states). Earthquakes are virtually unheard of, but a surprise 6.0 earthquake in the Gulf of Mexico on September 10, 2006, was felt from New Orleans to Tampa.

Economic activities

History

The history of the Gulf Coast is an important part of United States history; as economically important as the Gulf Coast is to the United States today, it arguably once held an even greater position of prominence in the U.S.

The first Europeans to settle the Gulf Coast were primarily the French and the Spanish. The Louisiana Purchase and the Texas Revolution, and made the Gulf Coast a part of the United States during first half of the 19th century. As the U.S. population continued to expand its frontiers westward, the Gulf Coast was a natural magnet in the South providing access to shipping lanes and both national and international commerce. The development of sugar and cotton production (enabled by slavery) allowed the South to prosper. By the mid 19th century, the South, including the Gulf, by some standards was populated by the nation's wealthiest people. The city of New Orleans in particular, being situated as a key to commerce on the Mississippi River and in the Gulf, had become the largest U.S. city not on the Atlantic seaboard and the fourth largest in the U.S. overall.

Two major events were turning points in the earlier history of the Gulf Coast region. The first was the American Civil War, which caused severe damage to some economic sectors in the South, including the Gulf Coast. The second event was the Galveston Hurricane of 1900. At the end of the 19th century Galveston was, with New Orleans, one of the most developed cities in the region. The city had the third busiest port in the U.S. and its financial district was known as the "Wall Street of the Southwest." The storm mostly destroyed the city (which has never regained its former glory) and set back development in the region.