A gulf is formed when the ocean enters the land that lies between two capes.
The term gulf comes from the vulgar Latin colphus , which in turn derives from a Greek word. It is a part of the ocean that enters the Earth's surface located between two capes. The concept also makes it possible to refer to a large maritime expanse that is very distant from the land and in which there are no island territories.
In other words, a gulf is a wide portion of the ocean that is enclosed by points of land ( capes ). The notion of a gulf is linked to that of a bay (an inlet of the sea that is enclosed by land except that there is an opening). While large bays are considered gulfs, narrower bays are called fjords .
On the other hand, gulfs that depend on other gulfs or bays can be known as inlets , coves or bays , among other names.
Gulfs have the perfect natural characteristics for the installation of dikes or port infrastructure , as they provide protection against waves.
Famous Gulfs
The Persian Gulf is one of the best-known in the world. Its extension includes the coasts of Iraq , Iran , Kuwait , the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia , among other countries . This region gave its name to the Gulf War , which arose after Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990 .
Likewise, we cannot overlook the famous Gulf of Mexico , which lies between the United States , Mexico and Cuba . One of the most well-known events that has brought it into focus is the oil spill that occurred in 2010 by the BP oil platform called Deepwater Horizon .
Specifically, this spill, the result of the explosion of the aforementioned platform, is considered to have gone down in history as the largest accidental spill ever to have taken place, based on the quantity of fuel that devastated the waters. Thus, it was said that more than five million barrels of oil were spilled.
Dubai is located in the Persian Gulf.
The term in Spain
In another sense, especially in Spain , golfo is an adjective that can be used to describe a lazy and shameless person, who lacks morals. Golfa , on the other hand, is a derogatory way of referring to a prostitute .
Shameless, womanizer and lazy are other adjectives that are associated with the definition of a man as a scoundrel . Thus, for example, we could say: “Pedro is a scoundrel who not only tricks women into having relations with them but also lives off them because he does not like to work.”
In this sense, we can say that in the cinematographic field there is a film that perfectly reflects what we are referring to. It is called "Golfus of Rome" and was directed in 1966 by Richard Lester .