Omaha daily bee., 1902-05-13
CURRENTS OF THE PACIFIC.
Great sweep of Ocean River RivaIinE
the Gulf stream.

Prof. George Davidson OF the University
Of California. president OF the GEOGRAPHICAL
Academy of Sciences hall npon The
Currents and Climatology of the Pacific"
reports the San Francisco Chronicle. His
talk was based largely upon his personal
investigation during many years and was
roughly illustrated with a large map he had
especially prepared to indicate the sweep
ing course OF the Pacific currents and the
general wall-like mountain chain drawn in
a mighty curve about the shores Of the
western ocean.
He said that the equatorial current in
the Atlanti that moves westward into the
Gulf Of Mexico and sweeps northward as
the gulf stream and curves across to warm
the shores of Europe had its counterpart
system in the Pacific in the equatorial
current that starts about at Panama and
hected by those p~lateau-like barriers,
turned northward along the Japanese coast
and sweeps in a great upward curve back
across the Pacific as the Japan stream to
warm the northern shores of this country,
and come down and defect southwestward,
TO be redrawn into the equatorial current
But, while the two big oceans have similar
ocean currents, their shores are different.
tending up the coast to the, Aleutian
islands, over to China, Japan, the Philip
pines and ending way down at Tasmania, Is
bounded by a mountain wall close to shore
ranging roughly from 5000 to 1900 feet
in height and having no fewer than $50
active volcanoes In a distance OF 10000
miles.
Prof. Davidson went on to explain that
the equatorial current moves westward
because the earth is turning eastward all
the while, and the ocean, being a movable
surface on a solid body, really hangs back
a little, and that action results In a west
where the surface of the earth Is moving
the fastest, and this western movement
along the equator draws into Il from north
and south the currents coming from the
polar regions. on japan this equatorial
stream Of warmer water is from 500 to 6OG
gives the shores Of Formosa a temperature
OF S6 degrees. After IL curves back across
the Pacific and warns the colder northern
coast It moves southwark. Because the
greatest coast rainfall Is at Cane Flattery,
and there is 15 inches a year, Prof. David
son i~nclines 10 the opinion that about there
vapors, must strike its midstream. AS this
current passes San Francisco II widens Ia
1000 miles and has given up a good deal OF
its warmth to the chilly coasts of the north
Prof. Davidson has a record OF some
seventy Japanese Junks, carried away IN
with men on board. show where the stream
strikes all around the great curve and way
around to the Hawaiian Islands. He spoke
Of one junk that had been picked up 30
miles southwestward of SAINT Barbara
with three survivors of a large crew after
thousands Of miles. From that drift thu
rate of the movement OF. the stream wal
found 70 be ten miles a dayd u.vs tina,
had struck this coast and explained that 9
was an earthquake wave from japan. i
crossed the Pacific ocean. about 5000 miles
in eleven and a half minutes and made
! itself felt way up into the Tuolumne rive
and in San Francisco and San Diego bays
From that wave rate the scientists com
| puted the average depth Of the Pacific he
tween here and Japan to be between 30
and $500 fathoms, or about 1900 feet, an
thew Established this before the ocean cabl
iaysrs in the Atlantic had learned the dept
OF that ocean.
He said that when the Canadians asket
for even a hfty-mile limit for fur sealinI
in the Boring sea they knew that IN
mother seals swan out nifty and sixty mile
from the Pribilovs to get food hsh In tn
Japan stream, as no food fish were to b
found in the cold waters closer to the rock
cries.