<p>Along the eastern US coast, the Gulf Stream travels over broad, and shallow, continental shelf. On the western edge of this shelf, friction slows the Gulf Stream as does seasonally driven local convection and surface gyres. In many places along the east coast, local currents may be reversed well beyond 1km from shore, depending on the season. Check out this <a href="https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a003800/a003827/perpetual_ocean_1080p30.mp4" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Perpetual Ocean visualization</a> from Godard Space Center.</p>
<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/n7YTi.jpg" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/n7YTi.jpg" alt="enter image description here" /></a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-07-03T07:02:11.537Z
2021-07-03T07:02:11.537Z
Knob Scratcher
<p>The Gulf Stream is the fastest ocean current in the world with peak velocities near 2m/s, a surprisingly high figure.</p>
<p>But I think that the speed is out in the open ocean, and it would be slower near shore. How fast is it, one kilometer from shore?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-06-30T20:49:42.353Z
Which shore in particular are you interested in? To my knowledge (I am *not* an oceanographer) along the East Coast of the United States the Gulf Stream never gets to within one kilometer of the shore, even during seasonal intrusions onto the continental shelf.
njuffa
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-07-01T07:26:19.323Z
@njuffa Any! If the answer is that it never gets within one kilometer of any shore, then that would be an answer.
rwallace
<oceanography><ocean-currents>
How fast is the Gulf Stream near shore?
rwallace
# How fast is the Gulf Stream near shore?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-06-28)

The Gulf Stream is the fastest ocean current in the world with peak velocities near 2m/s, a surprisingly high figure.

But I think that the speed is out in the open ocean, and it would be slower near shore. How fast is it, one kilometer from shore?

**Tags:** oceanography, ocean-currents

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: Which shore in particular are you interested in? To my knowledge (I am *not* an oceanographer) along the East Coast of the United States the Gulf Stream never gets to within one kilometer of the shore, even during seasonal intrusions onto the continental shelf.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 Any! If the answer is that it never gets within one kilometer of any shore, then that would be an answer.  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2021-07-03. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

Along the eastern US coast, the Gulf Stream travels over broad, and shallow, continental shelf. On the western edge of this shelf, friction slows the Gulf Stream as does seasonally driven local convection and surface gyres. In many places along the east coast, local currents may be reversed well beyond 1km from shore, depending on the season. Check out this [Perpetual Ocean visualization](https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/vis/a000000/a003800/a003827/perpetual_ocean_1080p30.mp4) from Godard Space Center.

[![enter image description here](https://i.sstatic.net/n7YTi.jpg)](https://i.sstatic.net/n7YTi.jpg)


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