A subtropical semienclosed sea bordering the western North Atlantic Ocean. It connects to the Caribbean Sea on the south through the Yucatán Channel and with the Atlantic on the east through the Straits of Florida. To the north, it is bounded by North America, to the west and south by Mexico and Central America, and on the east and southeast by Florida and Cuba respectively. The Gulf of Mexico Basin lies wholly within the boundaries of the North American tectonic plate.