North Pacific Current

References

Images

major surface currents of the oceans

North Pacific Current

ocean current

Also known as: North Pacific Drift, North Pacific West Wind Drift(Show More)

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 1, 2026

Quick Summary

major surface currents of the oceans — major surface currents of the oceans Major surface currents of the world's oceans. Subsurface currents also move vast amounts of water, but they are not known in such detail.

The North Pacific Current is an eastward-flowing ocean current that forms the boundary between the subpolar and subtropical gyres in the North Pacific Ocean. It is part of the larger wind-driven circulation system of the Pacific. This current is a component of the North Pacific subpolar gyre, which also includes the northward-flowing Alaska Current and the southward-flowing Oyashio Current. The North Pacific Current is a continuation of the Kuroshio Extension, which branches off from the warm Kuroshio Current.123

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

5 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

Kuroshio
…Kuroshio Extension, eventually becomes the North Pacific Current (also known as the North Pacific West Wind Drift). Much of this current’s force is lost west of the Hawaiian Islands as a great south-flowing eddy, the Kuroshio countercurrent, joins the Pacific North Equatorial Current and directs the warm water back to…
Read More
…Kuroshio Extension, eventually becomes the North Pacific Current (also known as the North Pacific West Wind Drift). Much of this current’s force is lost west of the Hawaiian Islands as a great south-flowing eddy, the Kuroshio countercurrent, joins the Pacific North Equatorial Current and directs the warm water back to…
Read More

ocean current
The subpolar gyres
The North Pacific Current forms the separation between the subpolar and subtropical gyres of the North Pacific.
Read More
The North Pacific Current forms the separation between the subpolar and subtropical gyres of the North Pacific.
Read More

equatorial current
…Japan, then east as the North Pacific Current (West Wind Drift), part of which then turns south as the California Current, which joins the equatorial countercurrent to form the Pacific North Equatorial Current.
Read More
…Japan, then east as the North Pacific Current (West Wind Drift), part of which then turns south as the California Current, which joins the equatorial countercurrent to form the Pacific North Equatorial Current.
Read More

Pacific Ocean
Surface currents
…the movement known as the North Pacific Current. The surface waters of the Bering Sea circulate in a counterclockwise direction. The southward extension of the Kamchatka Current forms the cold Oya Current, which flows to the east of the Japanese island of Honshu to meet the warm Kuroshio waters in…
Read More
…the movement known as the North Pacific Current. The surface waters of the Bering Sea circulate in a counterclockwise direction. The southward extension of the Kamchatka Current forms the cold Oya Current, which flows to the east of the Japanese island of Honshu to meet the warm Kuroshio waters in…
Read More