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Why does the Great Bahama Bank deflect the Florida Current northeastward?
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Gulf Stream
Major warm and cold currents of the North Atlantic Ocean.
The Florida Current is deflected northeastward by the submerged Great Bahama Bank, which is located southeast of the Florida Peninsula. As the current emerges from the Straits of Florida, this physical barrier forces the swift, northward-flowing water to change its trajectory toward the northeast, where it eventually joins the Antilles Current.1