Gulf Stream

The largest ocean current, which has its source in Florida, climbs to the North East where it breaks up and brings to the middle latitudes significant masses of warm water, whose constant temperature (20°C) moderates the climate of Western Europe. It ends its journey in the Atlantic Ocean, around Greenland.

This current was noticed by Ponce de Léon, a Spanish navigator, in 1513 during the discovery of Florida. He realised that his ships were carried by a current of warm and rapid water which originated in the Antilles Sea.