The largest whirlpool on the Western Hemisphere is called Old Sow. The Discovery Channel picked up the film and aired it as “Sea Twister.” Old Sow When the mannequin was later found far away, there was evidence of it being scraped along the bottom and 262 feet showed on the depth meter. Some Scottish producers tossed a mannequin with a life jacket into the Corryvreckan or “Brecan’s Cauldron” during a documentary called “Lethal Seas.” The life-size dummy disappeared into the dangerous vortex. Corryvreckan was once classified as unsafe for voyage, then “very violent and dangerous,” but writer George Orwell journeyed across the water just the same. Bewitching and bizarre legends were told by Celtic people about the ominous vortex of churning water that at times appears more green than blue. 30 foot waves swell from a depth of 100 fathoms and the reverberation of nature’s fury is heard from as far as ten miles away. Extreme tidal currents surge into whirlpools swirling round and round due in part to its location between two islands off the west coast of Scotland and the pyramidal rock on the sea floor. The third largest maelstrom in the world is located in the relatively narrow Strait of Corryvreckan. Its forceful tidal currents, about five miles wide, flow along a deep marine channel between the Norwegian coast and the open sea. However there are many people who would dispute the powerful circular currents of water that reach speeds of 17.27 mph as the most destructive maelstrom. Located off the Lofoten islands, Moskstraumen is the second strongest whirlpool in the world. Referred to as simply Maelstrom, it has the dubious honor of 1500 years worth of descriptions about seafarer’s who met sea monsters and their doom in the treacherous whirlpool. Moskstraumen is thought to be the first mentioned maelstrom in history. Herman Melville wrote about it through his character Captain Ahab in Moby-Dick. Poe penned a story called A Descent into the Maelstrom and then Verne referred to it at the culmination of the book 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Perhaps infamous thanks to Edgar Allan Poe and Jules Verne. While the Saltstraumen is the strongest maelstrom, the Moskstraumen is the most famous. Nevertheless locals and tourists are advised to use great caution when down by the sea or in a boat since the underwater currents are constantly churning, the water twisting, making the Maelstrom of Saltstraumen the most dangerous maelstrom on the planet. In fact, currents appear essentially calm during that time. When the tidal currents turn, there is a “time window” when larger ships can sail through the sound. Every six hours, vigorous ocean currents can run up to 25 miles per hour as more than 105,668 gallons of water surge through the narrow strait that connects Skjerstadfjord and Saltenfjord. Positioned near the Arctic Circle, the mightiest maelstrom in the world creates the strongest tidal currents on the globe.

The Maelstrom of Saltstraumen is located next to Norway. Currents speeds increase when the tides change, so even a large boat may find steering impossible until the maelstrom subsides.

Even now though, small boats could be pulled down and sailors are warned to avoid these treacherous waters when the tide is running. When they sailed the largely unexplored seas, tales were exaggerated of maelstroms and the certain doom of impenetrable ocean depths. A maelstrom, the vortex of a violent turbulence, is the most deadly of all.Īs we believe a black hole in the depths of uncharted space would suck us in if we venture too close, so did ancient seafaring folk believe a giant whirlpool, a spinning vortex, would suck down ships and sailors to their watery demise. The destructive interaction forms a whirlpool, a powerful circular current of water. Water spins counterclockwise north of the equator and clockwise south of the equator. In the ocean, depending upon the geology of the sea bed, driving currents can collide and create conflicting tidal flows. When moving river water is forced to twist around an object or to stream into a narrower riverbed, the water flows faster and is more likely to create an energetic swirling turbulence. Whirlpools are caused by a turbulent flow of water.

Corryvreckan maelstrom