Yucatan Channel  21° 30’N  086° 00’W 

The Yucatan Channel  ( 108 miles wide ) serves as a main route between the Gulf of Mexico and the Panama Canal. The E side of the channel is deep, shoaling gradually to the Mexican coast. Depths of less than 30m and named dangers extend up to 25miles off the coast, while depths of 15m and 17m have been re-ported to lie 34 miles NNE and NE, respectively, of Isla Con-toy 21 29’N., 86 48’W Tides Currents.

Tides—Currents

The greater part of the flow from the Caribbean Sea flows through Yucatan Channel towards the Gulf of Mexico. The western boundary of the current is Bancode Campeche, the bank extending 120 to 145 miles N and W of the Yucatan Peninsula. The E boundary lies about 20 miles off Cabo San Antonio, Cuba. The current axis is located about 35 miles off the Yucatan coast, about 6 miles beyond the 300m curve, in depths of 366to 731m. The mean rate during April, May, and June along the axis is about 4 knots. From 20 to 35 miles off Cabo San Antonio, the mean rate is1 knot at 50 miles, 2 knots at 65 miles, 3 knots at 78 miles, and at 90 miles, or about 25 miles from Yucatan, 1 knot. The current