- Moskstraumen
The Moskstraumen (popularly known as the
Maelstrom ) is a system of tidal eddies andwhirlpool s, one of the strongest in the world, that forms in a strait adjacent to theLofoten archipelago ,Norway .The Moskstraumen has featured in many historical accounts, generally exaggerated. It was described more than 1500 years ago, and later, it was marked on many maps with dramatic descriptions. A Swedish bishop showed it on his map, describing it as stronger than the Sicilian "
Charybdis ".Literature
The Moskstraumen, referred to simply as the Maelstrom, features in the climax of
Jules Verne 'sTwenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea . It is also the inspiration forEdgar Allan Poe 's short-storyA Descent into the Maelström .References
* [http://www.math.uio.no/maelstrom/ The Lofoten Maelstrom] ,
University of Oslo
* [http://www.math.uio.no/~bjorng/moskstraumen/bilder/article.pdf Strong topographic enhancement of tidal currents: tales of the Maelstrom] (PDF format) Gjevik, Moe and Ommundsen, 1997, preprint of "Sources of the Maelstrom", "Nature", Vol. 388, 28 August 1997, pp 837-838.
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