From Station 288 to Magellan Straits 123 



303, shows that on approaching the coast of Patagonia we enter 

 the southern branch of the Antarctic current, which, bending 

 round, flows southward along that coast and through the Strait 

 of Cape Hoorn. Its northern branch sweeps over the plateau of 

 Juan Fernandez, and follows the coast of South America up to 

 the equator (Plate 5). 



The Bay of Valparaiso must present contrasts of temperature 

 similar to those observed in False Bay near the Cape of Good 

 Hope. A westerly wind would bring the warm water of the 

 equatorial return-current into the bay, while a southerly wind 

 would fill the latter with the cold water of the Antarctic current. 

 The latter name is perhaps not a correct designation of the great 

 surface-current which, flowing from west to east through the 

 Southern Ocean, makes the circuit of the world between the 

 parallels of lat. 40° and 6o° S. and forms the " cold wall," on 

 encountering which all equatorial return-currents are split up 

 into currents running eastward along this wall, and into currents 

 flowing as warm under-currents into the Antarctic region. 



