Dr Rick Spencer, Licensed Psychologist in Pensacola, FL

The Gulf Coast of the United States, sometimes referred to as the Gulf South, South Coast, or 3rd Coast, comprises the coasts of American states that are on the Gulf of Mexico. Pensacola is located within the state  of Florida which is located near Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and are known as the Gulf States. All Gulf States are located in the Southern region of the United States.

The Gulf Coast is a highly productive economic region with many industries relating to fishing, aerospace, agriculture, biomedical research, and tourism. The region is anchored by the cities of New Orleans, Mobile, and Pensacola all the centers of their respective metropolitan areas and containing large ports.

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  and Psychological Associates is located in the Florida Panhandle.

The western portions of the Gulf Coast are made up of many barrier islands and peninsulas. These landforms protect numerous bays and inlets providing as a barrier to oncoming waves. The central part of the Gulf Coast, from eastern Texas through Louisiana, consists primarily of marshland. The western part of the Gulf Coast, predominantly Florida, is dotted with many bays and inlets.

 History

The history of the Gulf Coast is an important part of United States history; as economically important as the Gulf Coast is to the United States today, it arguably once held an even greater position of prominence in the U.S.

Map of the Louisiana Purchase

The first Europeans to settle the Gulf Coast were primarily the French and the Spanish. The Louisiana Purchase and the Texas Revolution made the Gulf Coast a part of the United States during the first half of the 19th century. As the U.S. population continued to expand its frontiers westward, the Gulf Coast was a natural magnet in the South providing access to shipping lanes and both national and international commerce. The development of sugar and cotton production (enabled by slavery) allowed the South to prosper. By the mid 19th century, the South, including the Gulf, by some standards was populated by the nation's wealthiest people. The city of New Orleans in particular, being situated as a key to commerce on the Mississippi River and in the Gulf, had become the largest U.S. city not on the Atlantic seaboard and the fourth largest in the U.S. overall.

For more info about the Gulf Coast, please refer to Wikipedia.