Laguna Madre (Mexico)

| photo_alt = Laguna Madre from a satellite

| photo_alt = Laguna Madre from a satellite

| photo_caption = Laguna Madre from space

| photo_caption = Laguna Madre from space

| map = Mexico

| map = Mexico Tamaulipas#Mexico

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| location = [[Tamaulipas]], [[Mexico]]

| location = [[Tamaulipas]], [[Mexico]]

| nearest_city = [[Matamoros, Tamaulipas|Tamaulipas]]

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| coordinates = {{Coord|25.232274|-97.608032|scale:1000000}}

| coordinates = {{Coord|25.232274|-97.608032|scale:1000000|display=inline,title}}

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| area_km2 = 5728.08

| area_km2 = 5728.08

==Characteristics==

==Characteristics==

The Laguna Madre is very shallow, with an average depth of only {{cvt|0.9|m|ft}}.<ref name = Gross>Gross, Grant M. ''Oceanography: A View of the Earth.'' Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1972. pp. 312-314. {{ISBN|0-13-629659-9}}</ref> The lagoon is connected to the ocean by only two narrow inlets, so the [[tide|tidal]] range – which is already minor in this part of the Gulf of Mexico – is negligible.<ref name = Gross/> One of the inlets is [[Boca de Catan]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Barba |first=Everardo |last2=Sánchez |first2=Alberto J. |year=2005 |title=Peracarid Crustaceans of Central Laguna Madre Tamaulipas in the Southwestern Gulf of Mexico |url=https://aquila.usm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1450&context=goms |journal=[[Gulf of Mexico Science]] |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=2 |via=[[University of Southern Mississippi]]}}</ref> [[Atmosphere|Atmospheric]] effects are much more important than tides in its circulation; its weak currents generally follow the prevailing winds, and these winds can influence the water level by as much as a meter.<ref name = Gross/>

The Laguna Madre is very shallow, with an average depth of only {{cvt|0.9|m|ft}}.<ref name = Gross>Gross, Grant M. ''Oceanography: A View of the Earth.'' Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1972. pp. 312-314. {{ISBN|0-13-629659-9}}</ref> The lagoon is connected to the ocean by only two narrow inlets, so the [[tide|tidal]] range – which is already minor in this part of the Gulf of Mexico – is negligible.<ref name = Gross/> One of the inlets is [[Boca de Catán]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Barba |first=Everardo |last2=Sánchez |first2=Alberto J. |year=2005 |title=Peracarid Crustaceans of Central Laguna Madre Tamaulipas in the Southwestern Gulf of Mexico |url=https://aquila.usm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1450&context=goms |journal=[[Gulf of Mexico Science]] |volume=23 |issue=2 |pages=2 |via=[[University of Southern Mississippi]]}}</ref> [[Atmosphere|Atmospheric]] effects are much more important than tides in its circulation; its weak currents generally follow the prevailing winds, and these winds can influence the water level by as much as a meter.<ref name = Gross/>

[[Oceanography|Oceanographically]], the Laguna Madre is considered a ''hypersaline lagoon''; this indicates that it is usually much [[salt]]ier than the [[ocean]], due to being nearly landlocked in a [[semiarid]] environment.<ref name = Gross/> This is because its salinity can vary wildly depending on rainfall and freshwater inflow, from as high as 120 [[parts per thousand|ppt]] (12%) – over three times saltier than the ocean – to as low as 2 ppt (0.2%) after a heavy rain.<ref name = Gross/>

[[Oceanography|Oceanographically]], the Laguna Madre is considered a ''hypersaline lagoon''; this indicates that it is usually much [[salt]]ier than the [[ocean]], due to being nearly landlocked in a [[semiarid]] environment.<ref name = Gross/> This is because its salinity can vary wildly depending on rainfall and freshwater inflow, from as high as 120 [[parts per thousand|ppt]] (12%) – over three times saltier than the ocean – to as low as 2 ppt (0.2%) after a heavy rain.<ref name = Gross/>