Gulf Coast of the United States Pensacola, St. Petersburg, Tampa, and increasingly, Sarasota. All are the centers of their respective metropolitan areas and contain large ports. (Baton Rouge is relatively far from the Gulf of Mexico; its port is on the Mississippi River, as is the port of New Orleans.) The Gulf Coast is made of many inlets, bays, and lagoons. The coast is also intersected by numerous rivers, the largest of which is the Mississippi River. Much of the land along the Gulf Coast is, or was, marshland. Ringing the Gulf Coast is the Gulf Coastal Plain which reaches from Southern Texas to the western
2006 Gulf of Mexico earthquake IV, including Brooksville on the west coast, Titusville on the east coast, and Panama City on the panhandle. In Atlanta, Georgia, the intensity was reported to be at level III. 2006 Gulf of Mexico earthquake The 2006 Gulf of Mexico earthquake occurred in the eastern Gulf of Mexico on September 10 at . The intraplate earthquake measured 5.8 on the moment magnitude scale and its epicenter was located about 250 miles west-southwest of Anna Maria, Florida. The event was felt throughout much of the Gulf Coast of the United States and was the second earthquake of magnitude 5 or greater