﻿Currents and TemperatvA'es in Gulf of St. Laivreiice. 53 



both straits. The cold Arctic current itself, in its onward 

 course southward along the North American coast line, is, 

 as we know, always similarly thrown to the right hand or 

 westward side, and exhibits this distinctive feature even 

 where with a greatly modified temperature at the surface, 

 it somewhat parallels the Gulf stream off the southern 

 United States coast. The details of Mr. Dawson's notes 

 show that on the Labrador side of the Straits of Belle 

 Isle, just inside of Belle Isle itself, the thermometric 

 readings at ten fathoms ranged from 35° to 38° F., whilst 

 on the Newfoundland side of the Straits near Cape Bauld 

 they reached as high as 51°. Again, on the south-west 

 side of Newfoundland, near Cape Eay, at the same depth, 

 they indicated 41° to 46° F., whilst towards the Cape 

 Breton side they were as high as 60° to 64° F. Further, 

 at twenty fathoms, the difference in temperature between 

 the north and south sides of the Straits of Belle Isle was 

 13°. and between the Newfoundland and Cape Breton 

 sides of Cabot Straits 4°. In some cases the variations 

 were very marked. Proceeding from Cape North on the 

 Cape Breton coast to near St. Paul Island, the tempera- 

 ture at ten fathoms fell 24°. Still further, at forty 

 fathoms the general temperature off the Labrador coasts, 

 in the Straits of Belle Isle, was about 30" F., whilst near 

 Cape Bauld, on the opposite coast line, it rose to 33° F. 

 At the same depth in Cabot's Straits variations in the 

 readings were less marked — the range being on both sides 

 between 33 and 34° F. 



The inferences which can be drawn, generally, from 

 these temperatures in connection with other facts is that 

 the colder waters deflected against the northerly sides 

 represent the Arctic Current from the Atlantic Ocean, 

 whilst the southerly deflected warmer waters are to be 

 attributed to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The higher tem- 

 peratures of the Gulf waters are traceable to two sources 

 — the land-locked character of this great bay, and the 



