Canaries Current

a cold current in the northeastern part of the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes the eastern periphery of the northern subtropical clockwise circulation of the surface waters. It runs from north to south along the Iberian Peninsula and northwest Africa as a branch of the North Atlantic Drift. In the south it merges into the North Equatorial Current and swerves partially into the Gulf of Guinea. The current’s width is 400–600 km, and its velocity reaches 2 km/hr. The water temperature in February ranges from 12°C to 23°C, and in August from 19°C to 26°C. Its salinity varies from 36.0 to 36.8 parts per thousand.