10 THE WORLD OF THE SEA. 
the southern extremity of the Loffoden Islands, off the coast of 
Norway. 
When the storms from the west set in motion a rough sea, and 
when a stiff land-breeze blows at the same time, great waves, as 
high as the hills, run together from every point of the horizon, 
throw themselves one over the other with an unheard-of fury, 
disappearing as if swallowed up in an abyss. The mistr6m draws 
in vessels from a great distance, and from the moment its current 
is felt all hope is gone.* It was very much dreaded by the an- 
cients, who called it “ ombril de la mer:? 
Earthquakes sometimes give rise to gigantic waves. On the 
23rd of December, 1854, at twenty-five minutes past nine in the 
morning, the Russian frigate Dzaxa, which was lying at anchor in 
the Bay of Simoda, near Yeddo, Japan, felt the first shocks of an 
earthquake. Some minutes after an immense wave entered the bay, 
the level of the water suddenly rose, and the town appeared sub- 
merged; a sccond wave followed the first, and when both retired 
not a house was left standing! The frigate itself touched the 
ground several times, and at last was cast up high upon the beach. 
On the same day, some hours later, upon the Californian coast, 
more than 12,000 miles from Japan, the tidal scales preserve the 
register of many waves of excessive height. It is believed that 
these were the same waves which stranded the Dzaza, and would, 
according to calculation, have a length of 620 miles, and a velocity 
of about 1,000 miles an hour. 
There are in the sea three great currents; one of which takes 
its rise in the Pacific, one in the Atlantic, and the third in the 
Indian Ocean. These currents are immense rivers in the sea, 
which cause great alterations in the temperature of many regions. 
The first has received the name of Humboldt’s Current. Starting 
from the South Pole it runs along the coast of Chili and Peru. 
This current is cold. The current of the Atlantic Ocean touches 
the southern extremity of Africa, when it divides into two. The 
western portion leaves the coast, and runs parallel with it for some 
distance. The northern branch follows the eastern coast line of 
the continent, and runs from south to north. Reaching the equator, 
* In times of calm the mialstrém is but a strong current, which even strangers may 
with safety navigate. 
