It connects the Yucatán Basin of the Caribbean Sea with the Gulf of Mexico.

It is just over 200 kilometres (120 mi) wide and nearly 2,800 metres (9,200 ft) deep at its deepest point near the coast of Cuba.

[4] The Yucatán Current flows strongly on the western side of the channel while the Cuban Countercurrent flows in the opposite direction on the easterly side of the channel.

[4] As the water flowing through the Yucatán Channel enters the Gulf of Mexico, it passes over the Campeche Bank, a shallow area of sea.

Here, there are coral reefs on the outer fringes of the Yucatán shelf about 100 kilometres (62 mi) offshore.