At the mention of a phenomenon such as a whirlpool, for some reason, a huge rotating mass of water immediately comes to mind, a funnel that is capable of drawing not only people, but also large ships. This idea of a whirlpool on the river and the sea, the ocean, created by cinema and fiction of different eras. In fact, the extent and danger of this phenomenon is greatly exaggerated.
Whirlpool Features
A whirlpool on a river is a spiral whirlwind flow that forms in the surface layers of water in certain sections of the channel. This phenomenon does not occur everywhere, but only in a certain place and subject to special conditions. More often, whirlpools occur near the ledges of the coastline. This phenomenon can also be seen in places of expansion of the river, at the confluence of two branches. The water in the whirlpool moves faster than the main stream.
In each pond you can find a whirlpool: in a river, lake, sea, ocean, even in small streams. Large whirlpools occur in the open ocean, especially in places where there is a strong current. Funnels can reach tens of kilometers, representing a danger to ships.
What are the whirlpools
Whirlpools on the river and sea differ in the size of the funnels. The smallest of them can be only a few centimeters. Such species are not dangerous, since the flow rate is too small in them. But the ocean has huge types of whirlpools with funnels of hundreds of kilometers, capable of absorbing ships.
Whirlpools on the river are divided by the duration of their existence. So, permanent, seasonal and episodic types are distinguished. The first include natural phenomena that do not stop even with changes in external conditions. Seasonal species occur only at certain times of the year, for example, during floods. Such types appear and disappear at about the same time of the year. Seasonal whirlpools occur unpredictably in the formation of favorable factors. This type is considered the most common. It is episodic whirlpools during the river that most often cause damage and cause death.
Why arises
There are several factors that can cause turbulence. The main reason for the whirlpool on the river is the meeting of two streams of water. Typically, eddies of water can be seen in places where sharp coastal ledges are bent around the river. This stream of water, following the edge of the coast, acquires a perpendicular direction, and sometimes the opposite of the main stream. In such cases, in places of collision of a multidirectional flow of water, a funnel arises. In its walls, the water flow rate is much higher than that of the main stream. Such whirlpools can often be seen in the same place.
The occurrence of whirlpools in places of deep holes is not uncommon. In such places, water flows expand sharply and then narrow, which leads to the formation of a funnel.
Sometimes a funnel is formed artificially. Similar systems are used to drain excess water from rivers, lakes, reservoirs.
The strangest whirlpool
One of the strangest is considered to be a whirlpool on a river in Latvia, which arose on Dviete. This unusual phenomenon has a distinct funnel, which draws in everything that carries the river: blocks of ice, tree branches. Scientists just can’t say why this maelstrom has such a drag force, and the locals are simply afraid of it.
After the appearance of the video with this phenomenon, a wide variety of comments went: someone suggests that this is a castor funnel under the channel, and others - that this is a drain that prevents flooding. There are many other versions, but there is no exact description of what it really is. We suggest watching a video of this strange phenomenon below.
On each river in Russia funnels arise. Every year, the media gets information that several people were dragged into a whirlpool of water on the river. So, in the Amur Region, on the Zeya river, such funnels arise that they can “capture”. Without the help of rescuers, one cannot get out of them. So, in 2013, five people fell into the funnel on this river. And this is far from the only case.
Interesting Facts
Knowing and seeing how a whirlpool forms on the river, one can easily simulate the same phenomenon, but on a larger scale, occurring on the seas and oceans. One has only to imagine a huge and narrow bay, into which a large mass of water flows during high tide. After the peak of the tide, the ebb begins, but all the water does not have time to leave and the ebb tide collides with the tidal. In such collisions funnels arise.
One of the most famous in the world is Malstrom, located off the coast of the Lofoten Islands in Norway. This whirlpool occurs where powerful streams of water are superimposed on the Gulf Stream at high tide. At these moments, water flows toward the islands, but there are cliffs in their path. Then the water enters the narrow bays between the islands, where the flow becomes unpredictable, complicating the management of ships.
A whirlpool of Malström appears on the coast of the island of Moscenese (it is permanent). Its strength depends on the strength of the current, the peak of the tide. At high tides, the flow velocity in the funnel reaches 11 kilometers per hour. Such a vortex force can drag out small vessels.
Near the town of Bodø, located near the Lofoten Islands, there is a swirl of Saltstremen. He is more spectacular and powerful than Malstrom. The largest current in the funnel is observed with a full and young moon. At high tide, at a speed of 44 kilometers per hour, more than 370 million cubic meters of water passes, forming funnels with a diameter of 15 or more meters in diameter. The same phenomenon is observed at low tide. In local newspapers, residents are notified at what intervals of time to expect greater activity of this whirlpool.
Such information helps to always be on the lookout for fishermen and those who are going to sail in the fjord, and for tourists - to see a breathtaking sight. The phenomenon can be observed from the bridge, built in 1979 over Saltstreme itself.
Whirlpools in mythology
In the Strait of Messina there is a whirlpool system consisting of two permanent craters, which are called Scylla and Charybdis. These two phenomena have been known since Homer. He colorfully described how Odysseus had to fight these monsters. Since then, the myth of Scylla and Charybdis has scared sailors for centuries, and other poets and writers have written stories about them.
