powerful surface oceanic current passing west through the Caribbean Sea, then north through the Yucatán Channel, and finally east out the Straits of Florida to form the Florida Current. The warm Caribbean Current, derived from the junction of the North Equatorial Current and the Guiana Current, flows at an average rate in the range of 38 to 43 cm (15 to 17 inches) per second and transports about 27,500,000 cubic m (1,000,000,000 cubic feet) of water per second.