The
Straits of Florida,
Florida Straits, or
Florida Strait is a
strait located south-southeast of the North American
mainland, generally accepted to be between the
Gulf of Mexico and the
Atlantic Ocean, and between the
Florida Keys (
U.S.) and
Cuba. It is 150 km (93 mi) wide at the narrowest point between
Key West and the Cuban shore, and has been sounded to a depth of 6,000 feet. The strait carries the
Florida Current, the beginning of the
Gulf Stream, from the Gulf of Mexico.