The Gulf of Mexico covers a surface area of 579,153 sq miles (1.5 million sq km), and is measured 994 miles (1,600 km) west to east, and 559 miles (900 km) north to south.
After travelling from the aorta, blood travels through peripheral arteries into smaller arteries called arterioles, and eventually to capillaries. Arterioles help in regulating blood pressure by the variable contraction of the smooth muscle of their walls, and deliver blood to the capillaries.
Arteries typically carry oxygenated blood, which is bright red in colour. The exception is the pulmonary artery which carries deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs. Arteries divide into arterioles which are of a similar structure, however the walls are not as thick as in arteries as the pressure within the vessels has lessened by the time blood reaches them. The arterioles then divide further into capillaries.