Gulf of Mexico numerous bays and smaller inlets. A number of rivers empty into the gulf, most notably the Mississippi River and Rio Grande in the northern gulf, and the Grijalva and Usumacinta rivers in the southern gulf. The land that forms the gulf's coast, including many long, narrow barrier islands, is almost uniformly low-lying and is characterized by marshes and swamps as well as stretches of sandy beach. The Gulf of Mexico is an excellent example of a passive margin. The continental shelf is quite wide at most points along the coast, most notably at the Florida and Yucatán Peninsulas. The shelf
Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies for all Gulf of Mexico researchers and research institutes. It includes ever-increasing amounts of information on bays and lagoons, reefs and islands and events to help researchers, policy makers, and the general public work together to insure long-term sustainable use and conservation of the Gulf of Mexico. • The Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative Information and Data Cooperative (GRIIDC) is implementing a research database to receive and process data collected from multiple sources and scientific disciplines in the Gulf of Mexico. GRIIDC will have web services to allow for direct access or machine-to-machine communication to its repository. • The HRI