GULF OF MEXICO 



83 



extended into the Gulf, its submergence may have 

 been completed by late Jurassic time, thus pro- 

 viding for the uivasion by the Cretaceous seas. 

 Post-Cretaceous downwarping tilted the Creta- 

 ceous deposits Gulfward, but, in general, the Gulf 

 remained a shallow sea during most of the early 

 Tertiary. During late Tertiary the basin of the 

 Gulf further subsided, possibly both by down- 

 warping and faulting along the basin margins. 

 The escarpment along the west edge of the 

 Florida shelf (Jordan 1951, pp. 1978-1993) un- 

 doubtedly has its origin in faulting, and similar 

 conditions seem to e.xist at the outer edge of the 

 Campeche Banks. Other areas along the con- 

 tinental slope suggest fault scarps. The basin of 

 the Gulf may well have been deeper than the 

 present 12,425 feet, with post-mid-Tertiary sedi- 

 ments filling the basin to its present depth. 



There is no reason to believe that the irregu- 

 larities of the continental slope are confined to the 

 local areas which have had detailed study, and 

 further hydrographic work should produce data of 

 great scientific value. 



Interest in the Gulf has been greatly accelerated 

 in the past decade, and there is much evidence 

 that this interest will continue, which should 

 result in the eventual solution of many of the 

 present riddles of the Gulf of Mexico. 



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