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
Gulf County, Florida Gulf County, Florida Gulf County is a county located in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2010 census, the population was 15,863. Its county seat is Port St. Joe. Gulf County is included in the Panama City, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. Gulf County, created in 1925, was named for the Gulf of Mexico. Wewahitchka was its first county seat and the 1927 Gulf County Courthouse is still in existence. In 1965 the county seat was moved to Port Saint Joe, which under its original name Saint Joseph, had been the site of Florida's first Constitutional