Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1915-01-07
THE GULF STREAM
It Is the Grandest Of All Terres.
trial Phenomena.
A MIGHTY RIVER IN THE SEA.

Billions Of Tons of Water Are Whirleo
Along Hourly In This Wonderful
Torrent, Whose Heneficent influences
Is Felt Al Around the World.
Ninety billion tons Of water are car.
ried hourly through the strait Of Flor
ida by the gulf stream. according
to Rear Admiral John E. Pillsbury.
u. S. N. in u communication to the
National Geographic society ut Wash
ington- This stream. he says. is. prob
ably the grandest and most mighty OF
any terrestrial phenomenon.
"If this one single hours f1ow of wa
Ter could be evaporated the remaining
halts would require many times more
than all the ships In the world to carry
It, says Admiral I'illsbnry.
ut is difficult for tie mind to grasp
the immensely of the great ocean riv.
er. When one is ON hoard vessel
floating upon Its waters one is not rs
much impressed ut the power and
grandeur of this wonder of nature as
he Is when be stands before u tower
ing mountain. an Immense iceberg or
a fall of water such Ms Niagara
"But when one remembers that the
mighty torrent. speeding ON hour by
hour and day by day In n volume
equal to all the largest rivers Of the
world combined. carrying. its bench
cent heat to temper the climate of con
tinents. one begins tn realize that OF
all the forces OF the physical world
none can equal this one river OF the
ocean
1T is interesting to note in the his
tory of the gulf stream how great its
influence has been on the fortunes OF
the new world
Before the discovery of America
strange woods and fruits were fire.
uuently found on the shores Ut En-
rope Some of these were seen Us
Columbus and to him were convincing
evidence that strange lands We're to the
westward These woods We're Carried
by the gulf stream and by the prevail
ing winds from America. SO that In
part the stream Is responsible for the
discovery Of the new world.
"Ponce de Leon. while searching for
the fountain of youth. discovered this
stream He sailed southwark along
the coast of Florida. thus stemrninG
the current lie says they found u
current that. though the wind was
good. they could not stem. 1t seemed
that their vessels were going fast
through the water. bHt they were being
driven back in spite of the strong and
favorable wind. One ship was soon
carried away by the current and lost
from sight although 1t was n clear
sky
THE theories as TO the cause OF
ocean currents have been many. In
recent times the course Of currents has
been laid TO rivers and the gulf stream
chiefly to the Mississippi In actual
fact bout 1000 such rivers would he
required
I'm the tropical regions there ia q
steady.moyeIncnt of the air from east
to west. known as the trade winds
Winds blowing over the surface OF the
water induct n current in the hitter due
to friction At first 1t Ia only the
mereSt skin that moves. but gradually
the motion is communicated from lay
er to layer until at last. If the wind Is
long continued as In the trade wind re
gion, the movement extends to lower
depths. BOG or 400 feet or perhaps
more.
These trade wind currents continue
across the Caribbean until they reach
the obstruction of the Honduras and
Yucatan COASTS. from which they es
cape into the gulf Of Mexico.
Another source of the gulf stream
is the wave caused by the wind. Ev
cry ripple carries a certain amount Of
water in the direction toward which
1T is flowing. irrespective Of the current
caused by Its friction. and when the
waves become large tons of water are
hurled from the crest into the trough
every time the wave breaks.
"In large area like the Caribbean,
having comparatively constant wind
blowing over Its whole surface. this
action Is practically a simultaneous
movement of the surface waters to the
westward.
There is every evidence that the
gulf stream is governed absolutely BY
law In all It's variations Its course
through the ocean is without doubt
fixed. Its fluctuations are by days.
months. seasons or by years. but they
do not vary materially one year from
the other So we may conclude that Of
all the physical forces on this earth
that are subject to any variSt 9ons at
all the great ocean currents are most
immutable."
RanA nnaE