<P> In 2002 geologist Michael Stanton published a speculative essay suggesting an impact origin for the Gulf of Mexico at the close of the Permian, which could have caused the Permian--Triassic extinction event . However, Gulf Coast geologists do not regard this hypothesis as having any credibility . Instead they overwhelmingly accept plate tectonics, not an asteroid impact, as having created the Gulf of Mexico as illustrated by papers authored by Kevin Mickus and others . This hypothesis is not to be confused with the Chicxulub Crater, a large impact crater on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico on the Yucatán Peninsula . </P> <P> Today, the Gulf of Mexico has the following 7 main areas: </P> <Ul> <Li> Gulf of Mexico basin, which contains the Sigsbee Deep and can be further divided into the continental rise, the Sigsbee Abyssal Plain, and the Mississippi Cone . </Li> <Li> Northeast Gulf of Mexico, which extends from a point east of the Mississippi River Delta near Biloxi to the eastern side of Apalachee Bay . </Li> <Li> South Florida Continental Shelf and Slope, which extends along the coast from Apalachee Bay to the Straits of Florida and includes the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas . </Li> <Li> Campeche Bank, which extends from the Yucatán Straits in the east to the Tabasco--Campeche Basin in the west and includes Arrecife Alacran . </Li> <Li> Bay of Campeche, which is an isthmian embayment extending from the western edge of Campeche Bank to the offshore regions just east of the port of Veracruz . </Li> <Li> Western Gulf of Mexico, which is located between Veracruz to the south and the Rio Grande to the north . </Li> <Li> Northwest Gulf of Mexico, which extends from Alabama to the Rio Grande . </Li> </Ul> <Li> Gulf of Mexico basin, which contains the Sigsbee Deep and can be further divided into the continental rise, the Sigsbee Abyssal Plain, and the Mississippi Cone . </Li>

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