RAS question
The California Current is a:
Correct answer: (B) Cold current in the Pacific Ocean.
The California Current is a cold current in the Pacific Ocean, flowing southward along the western coast of North America.
Explanation
The California Current is a cold ocean current of the Pacific Ocean. It flows southward along the western coast of North America, from British Columbia towards Baja California, and forms the eastern boundary current of the North Pacific subtropical gyre. That makes option B precise on both counts: the current is cold, and its setting is the Pacific. The NOAA Integrated Ecosystem Assessment page supports this Pacific setting by describing the California Current marine ecosystem as a highly productive coastal ecosystem in the northeastern Pacific Ocean, where seasonal upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water sustains marine life. The same cold-water character also helps explain the fog commonly associated with the California coast.
Why the other options are wrong
- (A) This reverses the thermal character of the current: the California Current is cold, not warm.
- (C) Although it correctly calls the current cold, it places the California Current in the Indian Ocean, whereas it belongs to the Pacific system off western North America.
- (D) This option is wrong on both geography and temperature because the California Current is a cold Pacific current, not a warm Atlantic current.
Concept
This tests the standard world geography concept of ocean currents, especially the distinction between warm and cold currents and their ocean basins. It recurs in RAS because currents help explain coastal climate, fog, upwelling and marine productivity.