Benguela Current

THE BENGUELA CURRENT is located in the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean and moves northward from the western coast of South Africa, Namibia, and [Page 117]Angola, merging into the Southern Equatorial Current. It takes its name from the Angolan port of Benguela, which was founded by the Portuguese in 1617. The current was quickly noticed by European seafarers, who initially had trouble navigating the region.

While the Benguela Current is cold, generated by water from the very deepest parts of the ocean moving in line with the rotation of the Earth, the Southern Equatorial Current is warm. The effect of the two merging is the subject of much research, starting with the English geographer James Rennell (1742–1830), whose book Currents of the Atlantic Ocean was ...