OCEAN 



4335 



OCEAN 



of Norway into the Arctic Ocean and the other 

 turns southward and joins the North Equato- 

 rial Current. Within this system of currents is 

 a body of water with no currents. Here sea- 

 weed collects in large quantities, forming what 

 is known as the Sargasso Sea. The currents of 

 the North Atlantic flow along the coast in the 

 direction of the hands of a clock. The Labra- 

 dor Current from Arctic regions comes to the 

 surface at about the latitude of Newfoundland, 

 and i> one of the chief causes of the cold cli- 

 mate of that region. 



Currents of the South Atlantic. The system 

 in the South Atlantic is similar to that already 

 ribed, except that the open ocean at the 

 Miuth makes the south current corresponding 

 to the Gulf Stream less distinct. The South 

 itorial Current is supplied from the cool 

 :ucla Current, off the west coast of Africa. 

 :rt of the South Equatorial Current turns 

 northward off the coast of Brazil arid joins the 

 North Equatorial Current. In the South At- 

 lantic the currents move in a direction contrary 

 to that of the hands of a clock. 



Currents of the Pacific. The currents in the 

 North Pacific are similar to those in the North 

 Atlantic, only they are less definitely marked, 

 owing to the greater size of the ocean. Here 



the Kuro-Siwo, or Japan Current, corresponds 

 to the Gulf Stream and produces a warming 

 effect upon the climate of the west coast of 

 North America similar to that produced by the 

 Gulf Stream upon Europe. Roses bloom in 

 January in gardens in Washington and Oregon, 

 and Sitka is seldom as cold as the average Chi- 

 cago winter. 



In the South Pacific the currents are not defi- 

 nitely marked, owing to the great expanse of 

 water, but the system of circulation is similar 

 to that of the other oceans. 



Currents of the Indian Ocean. The system in 

 the Indian Ocean is similar to that of the South 

 Pacific. There is a current of cold water along 

 the west coast of Australia that is noticeable 

 along the east coast of South Africa. The 

 South Equatorial Current turns southward off 

 the coast of Madagascar, and a current of warm 

 water flows through the Mozambique Channel. 

 The northeast monsoon may reverse the cur- 

 rents in the North Indian Ocean, othenvise they 

 are similar to those in the North Atlantic. Cur- 

 rents in the great polar seas at the South are 

 mainly drifts. 



The extent and direction of the various cur- 

 rents are plainly shown in the accompanying 

 chart. WJMI. 



Ocean Routes 



To a landsman journeying on the broad sur- 

 face of the open sea, where, as Schiller says, 

 there is 



Nothing before and nothing behind but the sky 

 and the ocean, 



vast expanse of waters may indeed seem a 

 trackless wilderness. Yet there are roads on 

 tin- sea ocean lanes, they are called just as 

 definitely fixed as those on land. In one of the 

 main-traveled lanes no steamer is ever very far 

 from another, as the map on page 4336 shows, 



away from the regular track one might 

 drift for years without being seen. 



If you were given charge of a ship just out- 

 side of New York harbor and told to sail it to 



Portuguese coast you would probably steer 

 so as to pass through all points in a line di- 

 rectly east. But a sea captain starting at the 

 same time and steaming at the same speed 

 would k." t tin-re before you, for he would know 

 a shorter route. If, howc in- 



< ted to make for a point in tin- Bahamas 



< tly south of New York, your rival could 

 not pass you, for the compass route is the 

 shortest. The reason for this differcn< 



as we are taught in geometry (see SPHERE), the 

 shortest line between two points on the surface 

 of a globe is part of a great circle (that is, a 

 circle whose center is the center of the globe), 

 and our lines of longitude are great* circles, but 

 our lines of latitude arc not. A great circle 

 line between New York and Portugal would 

 run a little toward the north of east until the 

 middle of the trip and then turn a little south- 

 ward. 



Ocean routes do not always follow the great 

 circle exactly. Sometimes tin \\a\ is blocked 

 by islands or, as in the North Atlantic, there 

 is danger from icebergs or fog. Usually east- 

 bound boats follow a different lane from that 

 followed by those westbound. C.H.H. 



Consult Oiberne's The Might)/ Deep and What 

 We Know about It: Ingersoll's The Book of the 

 Ocean ; Murray's The Ocean. 



it, inird MuhjrciH. The reader In referred to 

 the following articles in these volumes. The list 

 of seas, gulfs and bays under GBOORAPHT may 

 also be consulted. 



Antarctic Lands and Arctic Lands and Seas 

 s. .1 Atlantic Ocean 



