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Canary Current

 
Sci-Tech Dictionary: Canary Current
(kə′ner·ē ′kər·ənt)

(oceanography) The prevailing southward flow of water along the northwestern coast of Africa.


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Geography Dictionary: Canaries current
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A cold ocean current off the coast of Mauritania.

Wikipedia: Canary Current
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The Canary Current is an ocean current which branches south from the North Atlantic Current and flows toward the south-west about as far as Senegal where it turns west. The cool temperature is caused by the upwelling nutrient-rich water drawn up from below the surface by the current. It is named after the Canary Islands. Major upwelling occurs between 23 and 25 degrees northern latitude. (Canary Current, 2002) The Canary Island Archipelago partially blocks the flow of the Canary Current. (Gyory, 2007) The Canaries Current is responsible for the generally southward movement of ocean circulation and has led to enhancement of coastal fisheries in western Morocco. (Hance, 1975) This wide and slow moving current is thought to have been exploited in the early Phoenician navigation and settlement along the coast of western Morocco. The ancient Phoenicians not only exploited numerous fisheries within this current zone, but also established a factory at Iles Purpuraires off of present day Essaouira for extracting a Tyrian purple dye from a marine gastropod murex species. (Hogan, 2007) The Canary Current is located by Northern Africa. The current moves south and the water is cold.

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Sci-Tech Dictionary. McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms. Copyright © 2003, 1994, 1989, 1984, 1978, 1976, 1974 by McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Geography Dictionary. A Dictionary of Geography. Copyright © Susan Mayhew 1992, 1997, 2004. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Canary Current" Read more