Labrador Current

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The Labrador Current is a cold current in the north Atlantic Ocean which flows from the Arctic Ocean south along the coast of Labrador and passes around Newfoundland, continuing south along the east coast of Nova Scotia. It is a continuation of the West Greenland Current and the Baffin Island Current.

It meets the warm Gulf Stream at the Grand Banks southeast of Newfoundland and again north of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. The combination of these two currents produces heavy fogs and also created one of the richest fishing grounds in the world.

In spring and early summer, this current transports icebergs from the glaciers of Greenland southwards into the trans-Atlantic shipping lanes.

The waters of the Labrador Current have a cooling effect on the Canadian Atlantic provinces and coastal New England, but rarely have a significant effect on waters south of Cape Cod. This can most clearly be seen in the fact that the northern limit of tree growth can be as much as fifteen degrees further south than in Siberia, Europe or western Canada.