The Gulf of Mexico dates from approximately the Paleozoic-Mesozoic time boundary. From structural considerations, the hypothesis is proposed that the present Gulf is the result of a slowly widening rift, or tension gap, between North America (east of the Rocky Mountains) and Central America and the Caribbean block. Such an hypothesis, if correct, may explain several puzzling questions: (1) How should the southern Appalachians be extended southward from central Alabama? (2) What were the geologic and climatic conditions during deposition of Mesozoic evaporites in the Gulf region? (3) Why is the major delta complex of North America located in the vicinity of the Texas-Louisiana border? (4) What structural deformation is taking place in the area today?

A general program of investigation designed to test, or at least explore, the hypothesis is outlined.

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