The Gulf Coast Region The Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body of water in the world Water is always moving The water that moves here is warm It flows into the Gulf between Cuba and Mexico The Gulf Coast region of the United States is made up of the land that borders the Gulf of Mexico The Gulf Coast states include parts of Florida Alabama Mississippi Louisiana and Texas Washington Oregon Montana North Dakota Minnesota New Hampshire Vermont Maine Idaho South Dakota Wisconsin Wyoming Michigan New York Massachusetts Rhode Island Connecticut Nevada Nebraska Iowa Utah Colorado Illinois Indiana Pennsylvania Ohio California Arizona New Mexico Kansas Missouri Kentucky Oklahoma Arkansas Tennessee New Jersey Delaware Maryland Washington D C West Virginia Virginia North Carolina South Carolina Texas Alabama Mississippi Georgia Louisiana Florida 4
Much of the Gulf Coast is marshland where tall grasses and reeds grow in abundance Birds fish and frogs thrive in the marshes 5
People have lived along the Gulf Coast for thousands of years Long ago most people traveled from place to place to find food We know where they were because we can see what they left behind The Karankawa people used arrowheads like these to fish Artifacts are reminders of long ago people who lived along the Gulf Coast 6
Today many people live along the Gulf Coast region Many businesses take advantage of the Gulf’s resources Fishing is a big industry for the Gulf Oil drilling agriculture and tourism are also common 7
