The Gulf Stream

ocean currents · Atlantic Ocean · climate

Warm tropical water. The Gulf Stream begins in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the narrow Straits of Florida like a massive river within the ocean. It carries this tropical heat northward along the entire eastern coast of the United States.

Splits into three branches. Near latitude 36 degrees North, the Gulf Stream splits into different paths. One branch called the North Atlantic Drift heads northeast to warm Northern Europe, while another branch called the Canary Current curves back down toward West Africa.

Swift and powerful. The Gulf Stream is incredibly fast and intense because of a phenomenon called western intensification, which makes ocean currents much stronger on the western sides of oceans. This makes the Gulf Stream one of the most powerful currents in the entire Atlantic Ocean.

Shapes Europe's climate. Because the Gulf Stream carries warm tropical water so far north, it makes Western Europe much warmer than other places at the same latitude. Cities like Dublin and London have milder winters because of this ocean current bringing heat from the tropics.