Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1919-10-31
WORLDS MIGTHlEST RIVER
Instructive Facts About Gulf
Stream.
TEMPERs CLIMATE OF CONTINENTS
Various Theories as to Origin Of Mys-
terious Phenomenon-Not Yet Defi-
niteIy. Established from Whence
the Warm Waters Issue or to
ubane. xhnv AZ ~


Whence they Go.
i Recent reports of seamen concern.
ing the present excessive temperature
Of the waters Of the Gulf Stream, Il
which some experts attribute the heat
wave along the Atlantic coast
prompted the National Geographic
Society to issue bulletin concerning
this mighty current.
The bulletin, based on a communi-
cation from Rear Admiral John E
Pillsbury, u. s. N, president of the
National Geographic Society and the
worlds foremost authority on the
Gulf Stream, follows: f
"The Gulf Stream is probably the
grandest and most mighty of any ter
restrial phenomenon. Its waters are
characterized by a deep indigo blue
color of great clearness and high
temperature. It can be penetrated by
Ethe eye to considerable depths, and
generally its meeting with the less
saline polar waters can be at once
distinguished. ti.'
ut is difficult for the mind to grasp
the immensity of this great ocean
river. The Straits of Florida at its
narrowest point is about 40 miles
wide. A calculation of the average
volume Of water, passing in ono hour
gives the enormous sum of 80 billion
tons. If this one single hours flow
of water could be evaporated the re-
manning salts would require many
times more than all the ships in the
world to carry it.
when one Is on board a vessel,
floating upon its waters, one is not as
much impressed at the power and
grandeur of this wonder Of nature as
he Is when he stands before tower
| ing mountain, an immense iceburg, or
fall of water such as Niagara, but
when one remembers that the mighty
torrent, speeding on hour by hour and
day by day in a volume equal to all
the largest rivers in the world COM
bined. carrying its beneflcient heat to
temper the climate of continents, one
begins to realize that Of all the f. ces
of the physical world, none can, equal
this one river Of the ocean.
Ponce de Leon, while on his fam
GUS search for the Fountain Of Youth,
made the discovery of this great
stream. After his failure to find, on
the coast Of upper Florida, the means
of cheating death, he turned to the
southwark and skirted the shore fol
hundreds of miles, thus stemming the
current.
"The name of Gulf Stream was
first suggested by Benjamin Franklin
because it issues from the Gulf OF
Mexico. While 1t is only part of the
grand scheme Of ocean circulation, and
the Gulf of Mexico is in reality only a
stopping place, as 1t were, for its
waters, this name is generally applied
to the current now as it was given
by Franklin-that is, the current COM
| ing from the Gulf of Mexico and
spreading abroad over the North At
lantic.
1.-The theories as to the cause OF
ocean currents have been many.
"Franklin's theory, which has many
advocates at the present day, was that
the winds produce the current by the
air moving over the surface Of the
water, and he illustrated this theory
by the following: 1T Is, known THAT
large piece Of water, 10 miles broad
and generally only feet deep, has by
strong wind had its water driven to
one side and sustained so as to become
feet deep, while the windward side
klaid dry AS will be seen later. this
is a we'll taken example Of the force
of the wind in causing the Gulf Stream
but II does not quite show the whole
truth.
in the tropical regions there Is a
steady movement of the air from east
to west known as the trade winds.
South of certain line situated near
the equator they come from more
southwesterly direction, while north OF
the equator they come from a more
northeasterly direction. The winds
are not always strong. nor are they
constant in direction, but they do not
vary much, and then only for brief
periods.
winds blowing over the surface OF
the water induce a current in the latter
due to friction. At first it is only the
merest skim that moves, but grad
ually the motion Is communicated
from layer to layer until at last, If the
wind is long continued as in the trade
wind region, the movement extends to
lower depths, 800 or 400 feet, or per-
haps more.
"These trade wind currents meet fl
nally, the partial barrier of the islands
forming the eastern part of the Car
ibbean and portion of the flow es-
capes through the passages between
them. From here it continues its course
across that sea until it reaches the
obstruction of the Honduras and Yu-
catan coasts, from which it escapes by
the easiest route, which is into the
Gulf of Mexico.
ut has been found, however that
the water entering the Caribbean by
l..,If