Some of them reach 30 feet in diameter and are often 25 or 30 feet deep. They grow larger and larger, gathering speed. Hundreds of small whirlpools begin to form. The sea takes on an appearance of fullness, like a water-filled cup on the verge of overflowing. The noise can be heard for several miles. When they blow strongest, larger masses of water are forced through the channel.įour times a day, when the tides change, a tremendous amount of water races through the restricted waterway with the roar of a huge cataract. Westerly and southwesterly winds also play a part in the Saltstraumen's performance.
#TIDAL TIMES FOR SALTSTRAUMEN MAELSTROM NORWAY FULL#
During new and full moon, the current is strongest it is weakest during the first and last quarters.
The surging currents that create the Saltstraumen vary with the phases of the Moon. During the six-hour cycle of an ordinary spring tide, it has been calculated that 100 million cubic yards of water flow through this channel. During spring tide periods of peak velocity, the current reaches more than 10 miles per hour. The Storstraum channel has a minimum depth of 300 feet and is about 2000 yards long and 150 yards wide at its narrowest point. The third or center channel, the Storstraum, is the most important connection between the two fjords, both for traffic and for water masses. The northern and southern ones are rarely used for ship traffic. We know now that the Saltstraumen is generated by powerful currents that rip through channels connecting two large fjords. The Saltstraumen, as it's known, has long been the subject of Norse legends and stories, this formidable current, the strongest tidal current in the world, was once believed to be caused by a sulphurous underground fire that alternately sucked water deep into the earth at great speed and then violently ejected it. One of the world's strongest "maelstroms," or giant whirlpools, is located on the coast of Norway, just north of the Arctic Circle.
0 kommentar(er)
