CURRENTS AND STREAMS 19 



always avoid it and when coming north they 

 keep in it, for the great river travels silently 

 along through its ocean channel at from three 

 to eight miles an hour and ships sailing in it 

 lose or gain that much speed, according to the 

 direction in which they are moving. 



For mile after mile and league after league 

 this mighty stream flows northward towards 

 the Arctic Ocean, swinging towards the east 

 and finally losing itself and mingling with the 

 waters of the surrounding ocean off the coast 

 of northern Europe. 



Although you would scarcely call it warm, 

 were you to dip your hands in it, yet this 

 enormous ocean river is so much warmer than 

 the surrounding water that it has a wonderful 

 effect upon the atmosphere and the climate 

 of the countries near which it passes. Indeed, 

 so tremendous is the volume of warm water in 

 the Gulf Stream that it has been estimated that 

 it carries enough heat to melt down a solid 

 mass of iron the size of Mount Washington 

 every twenty- four hours. 



This is more readily understood when we 

 realise that the average surface temperature 



