The California Current is a cold water Pacific Ocean current that moves southward along the western coast of North America, beginning off southern British Columbia and ending off southern Baja California Sur.
How does the California Current affect the temperatures in California?
The California Current moves less water than the Gulf Stream does. But the California Current has a big effect on the climate of the West Coast of the United States. … Usually, the climate along the West Coast is cooler than the climate of inland areas at the same latitude and elevation.
Why is the California Current A cold current?
The water along the coast of California is cold for a couple of reasons. First, the California Current brings cold water from Alaska southward along the coast. And second, cold water from the deep ocean comes up to the surface through a process called upwelling. … So water from the deep ocean is sucked to the surface.
Is current cold or warm?
Currents are designated warm or cold. This designation comes from their point of origin, not their actual temperature. Any current flowing from the equatorial region toward the polar region is des- ignated as warm; any current flowing from the polar region toward the equator is designated as cold.
What type of current is the California Current?
The California Current is what scientists call an eastern boundary current. Strong current systems flow along the east side (or boundary) of all of Earth’s major ocean basins. They tend to move water toward the equator, and they are prone to strong upwelling.
Is the California Current fast or slow?
Schwartzlose: The average speed of the general California Current is about 4 to 4 knot (12.5-25 cm/sec) . Direct measurements, using drogues, which we have made off Monterey, southern California and northern Baja California, indicate that speeds up to a knot (50 cm/sec) can obtain for short periods of time.
What is the general temperature of the California Current?
The temperature and salinity of its waters vary with seasonal variations in upwelling, insolation, and flow. The maximum ranges in temperature and salinity from its northern to its southern end are 48° to 79° F (9° to 26° C) and 32.5 to 34.5 parts per thousand, respectively.
Is the California current deep?
The California current is the eastern boundary current of the North Pacific Gyre, running southward from British Columbia, Canada to Baja California, Mexico. Western boundary currents flow deeper and stronger than eastern boundary currents. …
Why is the California Current important?
This is the mechanism that produces California’s characteristic coastal fog and cool ocean waters. … The cold water is highly productive due to the upwelling, which brings to the surface nutrient-rich sediments, supporting large populations of whales, seabirds and important fisheries.
Can you swim in the Pacific ocean in California?
Unlike some of the nearby beaches in Santa Monica Bay, Zuma opens right on to the Pacific Ocean so it’s waters can be a bit colder and more unpredictable, but on a calm day, it’s a great spot to swim and body surf. Rough surf or not, Zuma remains one of the most popular and best swimming beaches in southern California.
Why is Pacific so cold?
It is produced by equatorial trade winds that blow from east to west, piling up warm surface water in the west Pacific, and also pushing surface water away from the equator itself. This makes way for colder waters to well up from the depths, creating the cold tongue.
Is the ocean cold in California?
The ocean off of California is actually quite cold, because of the California Current carrying cold water from British Columbia south to southern California. For the same reason, there’s not that much difference between sea surface temperatures off the San Francisco area and off the Los Angeles area.
Why is Pacific colder than Atlantic?
However, the Pacific ocean is warmer as a whole than the Pacific because it is wider at the equator. The water has more time to travel along the equator and heat up before it moves to the poles compared to water in the Atlantic ocean.
Is Oyashio a warm current?
Oyashio (親潮, “Parental Tide”), also known as Oya Siwo, Okhotsk or the Kurile current, is a cold subarctic ocean current that flows south and circulates counterclockwise in the western North Pacific Ocean.
Which ocean current is a warm current?
The Gulf Stream is a strong ocean current that brings warm water from the Gulf of Mexico into the Atlantic Ocean. It extends all the way up the eastern coast of the United States and Canada. The Gulf Stream is a strong ocean current that brings warm water from the Gulf of Mexico into the Atlantic Ocean.