Editing Whirlpool (section)

== Notable whirlpools ==
=== Saltstraumen ===
[[File:Saltstraumen quiet.JPG|thumb|300px|[[Saltstraumen]]]]
{{main|Saltstraumen}}
Saltstraumen is a narrow strait located close to the [[Arctic Circle]],<ref name="Doyle2012">{{cite book|last= Doyle |first=James |title=A Young Scientist's Guide to Defying Disasters|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nD_eUzeJZM8C&pg=PA15|date=1 March 2012|publisher=Gibbs Smith|isbn=978-1-4236-2441-7|page=15}}</ref> {{convert|33|km|abbr=on|sigfig=1}} south-east of the city of [[Bodø (town)|Bodø]], [[Norway]].
It has one of the strongest tidal currents in the world.<ref>[http://www.nrk.no/nordland/er-saltstraumen-egentlig-verdens-sterkeste-tidevannsstrom_-1.12929482 "Er Saltstraumen egentlig verdens sterkeste tidevannsstrøm?"] (English: Is Saltstraumen really the worlds strongest tidal current?), from NRK (www.nrk.no), 7 May 2016, Accessed 17 January 2021</ref><ref name="Doyle2012"/> Whirlpools up to {{convert|10|m}} in diameter and {{convert|5|m}} in depth are formed when the current is at its strongest.

=== Moskstraumen ===
[[File:Maelstrom, Carta Marina.png|thumb|300px|The maelstrom off Norway as illustrated by [[Olaus Magnus]] on the ''[[Carta Marina]]'', 1539.]]
{{main|Moskstraumen}}
Moskstraumen or Moske-stroom is an unusual system of whirlpools in the open seas in the [[Lofoten Islands]] off the [[Norway|Norwegian coast]].<ref>Encyclopædia Britannica, 1958 edition.</ref> It is the second strongest whirlpool in the world with flow currents reaching speeds as high as {{convert|32|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Doyle2012" /> This is supposedly the whirlpool depicted in Olaus Magnus's map, labeled as "Horrenda Caribdis" ([[Charybdis]]).<ref>{{citation|last=Nigg |first=Joseph |author-link=Joseph Nigg |title=Sea Monsters: A Voyage around the World's Most Beguiling Map |publisher=University of Chicago Press |year=2014 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BT2NAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA122 |page=122 |isbn=978-0-226-92518-9 }}</ref>

The Moskstraumen is formed by the combination of powerful semi-diurnal tides and the unusual shape of the [[seabed]], with a shallow ridge between the [[Moskenesøya]] and [[Værøya]] islands which amplifies and whirls the tidal currents.<ref name="Compton2013">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TWwQAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA78|title=Why Sailors Can't Swim and Other Marvellous Maritime Curiosities|last=Compton|first=Nic|date=28 July 2013|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-4081-9263-4|pages=78–79}}</ref>

The fictional depictions of the Moskstraumen by [[Edgar Allan Poe]], [[Jules Verne]], and [[Cixin Liu]] describe it as a gigantic circular vortex that reaches the bottom of the ocean, when in fact it is a set of currents and crosscurrents with a rate of {{convert|18|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}.<ref>B. Gjevik, H. Moe and A Ommundseb, "Strong Topographic Enhancement of Tidal Currents: Tales of the Maelstrom", University of Oslo, working paper, 5 September 1997. A condensed version published as {{cite journal|doi=10.1038/42159|last1=Gjevik|url=http://www.math.uio.no/~bjorng/moskstraumen/bilder/article.pdf|first1=B.|last2=Moe|first2=H.|last3=Ommundsen|first3=A.|title=Sources of the Maelstrom|journal=Nature|volume=388|pages=837–838|year= 1997|issue=6645 |bibcode=1997Natur.388..837G|s2cid=205030149| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040414111611/http://www.math.uio.no/~bjorng/moskstraumen/bilder/article.pdf|archive-date=14 April 2004 |doi-access=free}}</ref> Poe described this phenomenon in his short story "[[A Descent into the Maelström]]", which in 1841 was the first to use the word ''maelstrom'' in the English language;<ref name="Compton2013" /> in this story related to the Lofoten Maelstrom, two fishermen are swallowed by the maelstrom while one survives.<ref name="Kenney2012">{{cite book|author=James Kenney|title=Thriving in the Crosscurrent: Clarity and Hope in a Time of Cultural Sea Change|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=iE9bBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA143|date=19 December 2012|publisher=Quest Books|isbn=978-0-8356-3019-1|pages=143–}}</ref>

=== Corryvreckan ===
{{main|Corryvreckan}}
[[File: Corryvreckan.jpg|thumb|Corryvreckan whirlpool]]
The Corryvreckan is a narrow [[strait]] between the islands of [[Jura, Scotland|Jura]] and [[Scarba]], in [[Argyll and Bute]], on the northern side of the [[Gulf of Corryvreckan]], [[Scotland]]. It is the third-largest whirlpool in the world.<ref name="Doyle2012"/> Flood [[tides]] and inflow from the [[Firth of Lorne]] to the west can drive the waters of Corryvreckan to waves of more than {{convert|9|metres}}, and the roar of the resulting maelstrom, which reaches speeds of {{convert|18|km/h|abbr=on}}, can be heard {{convert|16|km|mi|0|abbr=on}} away. Though it was classified initially as non-navigable by the [[Royal Navy]] it was later categorized as "extremely dangerous".<ref name=" Doyle2012"/>

A documentary team from Scottish independent producers [[Northlight Productions]] once threw a [[mannequin]] into the Corryvreckan ("the Hag") with a [[High-visibility clothing|high-visibility vest]] and [[depth gauge]]. The mannequin was swallowed and spat up far down current with a depth gauge reading of {{convert|262|m|ft|abbr=on}} and evidence of being dragged along the bottom for a great distance.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/680755 |title= Equinox: Lethal Seas |access-date= 2 February 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140320021700/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/680755 |archive-date= 20 March 2014 |url-status= dead }} UK and US co-production by Northlight, "Lethal Seas" UK Channel 4, "Sea Twister!" US Discovery Channel, covers several notable maelstroms.</ref>

===Niagara Whirlpool===

[[File:Whirlpool rapids3.JPG|thumb|Niagara Whirlpool]]

About three miles (4.8 kilometers) downstream from [[Niagara Falls]] is the [[Niagara Whirlpool]]. Located mostly in Canada and partially in the United States, the whirlpool is crossed by the [[Whirlpool Aero Car]].<ref>{{cite book | last =Dombrowski | first =Joel A. | authorlink = | title =Niagara Falls: With Buffalo | publisher =[[Avalon Publishing]] | series = | volume = | edition = | date =2020 | location = | pages = | language = | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=QGnbDwAAQBAJ&dq=niagara+whirlpool&pg=PT58
 | doi = | id = | isbn =9781640493940 | quote=}}</ref>
 
The basin of the whirlpool is 1,700 feet (518 meters) long and 1,200 feet (365 meters) wide. Its maximum water depth is 125 feet (38 meters).<ref>{{cite web | url =https://www.niagaraparks.com/visit-niagara-parks/plan-your-visit/niagara-falls-geology-facts-figures/#:~:text=The%20whirlpool%20is%20a%20basin,metres%20(125%20ft.). | title =Niagara Falls Geology: Facts & Figures | last = | first = | date =2023 | website = Niagara Parks| publisher =Government of Ontario| access-date = July 23, 2023| quote = }}</ref>

=== Other notable maelstroms and whirlpools ===

[[Old Sow whirlpool]] is located between Deer Island, [[New Brunswick]], Canada, and Moose Island, Eastport, [[Maine]], USA. It is given the epithet "pig-like" as it makes a screeching noise when the vortex is at its full fury and reaches speeds of as much as {{convert|27.6|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Compton2013" /> The smaller whirlpools around this Old Sow are known as "Piglets".<ref name="Doyle2012" />

[[File:Naruto Whirlpools taken 4-21-2008.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Naruto whirlpools]]]]
The [[Naruto whirlpools]] are located in the Naruto Strait near Awaji Island in Japan, which have speeds of {{convert|26|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Compton2013" />

[[Skookumchuck Narrows]] is a tidal rapids that develops whirlpools, on the [[Sunshine Coast (British Columbia)|Sunshine Coast]], [[British Columbia]], Canada with speeds of the current exceeding {{convert|30|km/h|mph|abbr=on}}.<ref name="Compton2013" />

[[Te Aumiti / French Pass|French Pass]] ({{lang|fr|Te Aumiti}}) is a narrow and treacherous stretch of water that separates D'Urville Island from the north end of the South Island of New Zealand. In 2000 a whirlpool there caught student divers, resulting in fatalities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://divenewzealand.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/frenchpass.pdf|last=Smith|first=I R|title=In the matter of an inquest into the deaths of Narelle Taniko te Pure, Ricki Graeme McDonald and Michael David Welsh|date=14 April 2003|publisher=Nelson District Coroner|via=Dive New Zealand|access-date=2 February 2016|archive-date=26 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126003717/http://divenewzealand.co.nz/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/frenchpass.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

A short-lived whirlpool sucked in a portion of the {{convert|1300|acre|adj=on}} [[Lake Peigneur]] in [[Louisiana, United States]] after a drilling mishap on November 20, 1980. This was not a naturally occurring whirlpool, but a disaster caused by underwater drillers breaking through the roof of a salt mine. The lake then drained into the mine until the mine filled and the water levels equalized, but the formerly {{convert|10|ft|m|adj=on}} deep lake was now {{convert|1300|ft|m}} deep. This mishap caused a sinkhole, and in the end, resulted in the destruction of five houses, the loss of nineteen barges and eight tug boats, oil rigs, a mobile home, trees, acres of land, and most of a botanical garden. The adjacent settlement of Jefferson Island was reduced in area by 10%. A crater {{convert|0.5|mi|km|sigfig=1}} across was left behind. Nine of the barges, which had sunk, later resurfaced after the whirlpool subsided.<ref name="Pile2012">{{cite book|author=Stephen Pile|title=The Not Terribly Good Book of Heroic Failures: An intrepid selection from the original volumes|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E_qS4RW5nw0C&pg=PT146|date=4 October 2012|publisher=Faber & Faber|isbn=978-0-571-27734-6|pages=146–}}</ref><ref name="Heggen2015">{{cite book|author=Richard Heggen|title=Underground Rivers: From the River Styx to the Rio San Buenaventura, with occasional diversions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7zczBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA1108|date=16 January 2015|publisher=Richard Heggen|pages=1108–|id=GGKEY:BS7JB1BB957}}</ref><ref name=Recovery>{{cite web|url= http://members.tripod.com/%7Eearthdude1/texaco/texaco.html |title= And away goes the lake down the drain!|access-date=23 May 2016|publisher=Archive of tripod.com}}</ref>

A more recent example of an artificial whirlpool that received significant media coverage occurred in early June 2015, when an intake vortex formed in [[Lake Texoma]], on the Oklahoma–Texas border, near the floodgates of the dam that forms the lake. At the time of the whirlpool's formation, the lake was being drained after reaching its highest level ever. The [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|Army Corps of Engineers]], which operates the dam and lake, expected that the whirlpool would last until the lake reached normal seasonal levels by late July.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.kxii.com/home/headlines/Levels-at-Lake-Texoma-decrease-rare-look-at-intake-vortex-306557501.html |title=Levels at Lake Texoma decrease; rare look at intake vortex |first=Chelsi |last=Smith |publisher=[[KXII]]-TV |location=Sherman, TX |date=8 June 2015 |access-date=30 June 2015 |archive-date=30 June 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150630015421/http://www.kxii.com/home/headlines/Levels-at-Lake-Texoma-decrease-rare-look-at-intake-vortex-306557501.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>