Which channel separates Cuba from Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula?

The channel separating Cuba from Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula is the Yucatán Channel.

This strait lies between Cuba’s western end and the northeastern tip of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. It connects the Caribbean Sea with the Gulf of Mexico, making it an important gateway for ocean circulation between the two bodies of water.

The channel is about 217 kilometers wide between Cape Catoche in Mexico and Cape San Antonio in Cuba. Near the Cuban coast, it reaches a maximum depth of approximately 2,779 meters. Strong currents flow through it, including the Yucatán Current, which carries warm Caribbean water westward into the Gulf of Mexico.

That inflow is especially significant because it supplies much of the Gulf’s incoming water; the route through the Straits of Florida is smaller and intermittent by comparison. The Yucatán Channel is often confused with the Gulf of Mexico itself, but the channel is the connecting passage between the Gulf and Caribbean. It may also be called the Straits of Yucatán, although “Yucatán Channel” is the standard name used in the question.