Whirlpools: Nature's Spinning Waters

A whirlpool is a body of rotating water formed by strong currents.

Whirlpools form where opposing currents or obstacles meet in water.

Saltstraumen near Norway’s Arctic Circle has some of strongest whirlpools.

Saltstraumen whirlpools reach depths up to 5 metres during strong currents.

Moskstraumen off Norway’s Lofoten Islands is the second strongest whirlpool worldwide.

Moskstraumen currents reach speeds as high as 32 kilometers per hour.

Corryvreckan in Scotland is the third-largest whirlpool with 18 km/h currents.

Corryvreckan’s roar can be heard 16 kilometers across the gulf.

Niagara Whirlpool stretches 1,700 feet long and 1,200 feet wide.

Niagara Whirlpool reaches a maximum depth of 125 feet.

Naruto whirlpools in Japan’s Naruto Strait have currents up to 26 km/h.

A whirlpool formed in Lake Peigneur, Louisiana, after a drilling mishap in 1980.

Whirlpools can be deadly, dragging small boats into their swirling depths.