20 THE OCEAN 



of the Gulf Stream is 83° F. with a bottom 

 temperature of 45° and that through the Flor- 

 ida Straits alone over four hundred and thirty- 

 six trillion tons of this heated water flow 

 northward daily. Even a larger amount finds 

 its way out through the Windward Passage, 

 the Bahama Channel and other passages into 

 the Atlantic, and year after year and century 

 after century, this huge warm river flows 

 through the ocean. 



At times strong winds or storms may churn 

 the surface of the ocean and cause the waters 

 of the stream and the surrounding sea to min- 

 gle, but this happens only near the surface, 

 and a few fathoms beneath the current flows 

 along in an almost unvarying course. 



Sometimes, when sailing across the Gulf 

 Stream, one may note its presence by steam or 

 vapour above its surface which is caused by the 

 warm air rising from the stream meeting the 

 cold wind blowing across it, — exactly as our 

 warm breath looks like steam in the frosty 

 air on a cold winter's day. At intervals, 

 and after long periods of calm weather, 

 the edge of the Gulf Stream may some- 



