Gulf Coast of the United States of the Gulf Coast. The following table lists the 15 largest MSAs along the Gulf Coast. Gulf Coast of the United States The Gulf Coast of the United States is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, and these are known as the "Gulf States". The economy of the Gulf Coast area is dominated by industries related to energy, petrochemicals, fishing, aerospace, agriculture, and tourism. The large cities of the region are (from west
Offshore oil and gas in the Gulf of Mexico (United States) water in 1962; and in a thousand feet of water in 1979. "By 1970, the technology existed to drill in 2,000 feet of water and actual exploratory drilling was taking place at 1,400 feet." By 2009, more than 70% of Gulf of Mexico oil production came from wells drilled in depths greater than , almost double from the percentage ten years ago. The deepest water depth in which a discovery has been made is , at Lloyd Ridge 370 (Diamond). The federal government has not allowed drilling in federal waters in the eastern Gulf of Mexico, which includes offshore Florida