This page has been validated.
40
THE CAPE CURRENT.
[Chap. III.
1840
showing that we had got to the southward of the cold water current that runs along the west, and perhaps the south, coast of Africa.
It is evident, therefore, that this current does not come down directly from the south, as it only extends to seven or eight miles from the Cape, and beyond that distance we have to descend to more than six hundred fathoms before we can find water of so low a temperature as 43°.5. It may be that if the whole body of the sea is moving from east to west, as some suppose, that in passing over the shoal bank off Cape Aguilhas, the waters belonging to a greater depth, and of consequently a colder temperature, may thus be brought near to the surface; but at ninety and one hundred and twenty miles to the S.E. of the Cape, and near the edge of the bank, we found the temperature at seventy-seven fathoms 55°.2, and at one hundred fathoms 54°; so that the current which runs close along the shore must be of a much lower temperature if that of the west coast is supplied from this source. I will continue to notice in detail all that came within our observation bearing upon this question, or that may assist the further investigation of these strange and unexplained currents. The frequent changes in their direction, their various velocities, and the broad belts of cold water we passed through, are all separately deserving of more attention of the navigator than we had time to bestow on them; and a more strict inquiry into their causes might prove highly advantageous to ships passing the Cape, by point-