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| Bay of Campeche | |
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  Bay of Campeche Bay of Campeche | |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 20°00′00″N94°00′00″W / 20.00000°N 94.00000°W /20.00000; -94.00000 |
| Part of | |
| Ocean/sea sources | Gulf of Mexico |
| Basin countries | Mexico |
| Max. length | 152 nautical miles (175 mi; 282 km) |
| Max. width | 378 nautical miles (435 mi; 700 km) |
| Surface area | 41,909 square nautical miles (55,500 sq mi; 143,740 km2) |
| Islands |
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TheBay of Campeche (Spanish:Bahía de Campeche), orCampeche Sound, is abight in the southern area of theGulf of Mexico, forming the north side of theIsthmus of Tehuantepec. It is surrounded on three sides by theMexicanstates ofCampeche,Tabasco andVeracruz. The area of the bay is 6,000 square miles (16,000 km2) and maximum depth of the bay is approximately 180 feet (55 m). It was named byFrancisco Hernández de Córdoba andAntón de Alaminos duringtheir expedition in 1517.
TheCantarell Complex of fiveoil fields lies beneath the Bay of Campeche. In 2003, it was the second most productive oil field in the world, then supplying about two thirds of Mexico'scrude oil output, but it went into a steep decline soon thereafter.
On June 3, 1979,Ixtoc I, an exploratory oil well located in the bay,suffered a blowout that caused a catastrophic explosion, resulting in what has been ranked as the third largest unintentional oil spill in history.
During the months of June and July, the Bay of Campeche is considered one of the "hot" breeding spots forAtlantichurricanes.[1]
It experiences strong winds from the north from November into February along its western edge, with the winds ultimately funneling between the mountains and out into the Pacific near Salina Cruz.[5]
On the other hand, the bay is also known for being a hurricane "graveyard", with unusually weak steering currents in the area causing hurricanes to slow down and meander, starving themselves (for example,Hurricane Roxanne in 1995). The bay is also considered the eastern border on the main migration routes for birds in the Americas.[2]
Media related toBay of Campeche at Wikimedia Commons State ofCampeche | ||
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Campeche (capital) | ||
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