Gulf Coast

The Gulf Coast is that part of the coastline of the United States of America that faces the Gulf of Mexico, extending from the mouth of the Rio Grande in the west to Key West in the east. It includes the coastlines of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and the west coast of Florida. It is prone to extreme weather events, the most notable of which in recent years was Hurricane Katrina; more damaging still, however, was the 1900 hurricane and storm surge that destryed much of Galveston and killed 8,000 people. The main Gulf Coast city is New Orleans; other major coastal centres include Corpus Christi, Galveston, Pensacola and St Petersburg. Many coastal cities service the offshore oil platforms of the Gulf.