Refuge, and the California Coastal National Monument. The movement of Alaskan and northern Pacific ocean currents southward down the west coast results The California Current (Spanish: Corriente de California) is a cold water Pacific Ocean current that moves southward along the western coast of North America, beginning off southern British Columbia and ending off southern Baja California Sur. It is considered an Eastern boundary current due to the influence of the North American coastline on its course. It is also one of six major coastal current The… The movement of Alaskan and northern Pacific ocean currents southward down the west coast results in much cooler ocean temperatures than at comparable latitudes on the east coast of the United States, where ocean currents come from the Caribbean and tropical Atlantic. The cooler ocean current along the west coast also makes summer temperatures cooler on the west coast compared to the east coast. For example, Half Moon Bay at 37°N has an average July high temperature of 67 °F (19 °C) while Virginia Beach, VA, close to the same latitude, has an average July high temperature of 89 °F (32 °C). Additionally, extensive upwelling of colder sub-surface waters occurs along the West Coast of the United States, caused by the prevailing northwesterly winds acting through the Ekman Effect. The winds drive surface water to the right of the wind flow, that is offshore, which draws water up from below to replace it. The upwelling further cools the already cool California Current. This is the mechanism that produces California's characteristic coastal fog and cool ocean waters. As a result, ocean surf temperatures are much colder in summer along the Pacific coast than the Atlantic coast at the same latitude. For example, the average July SST (sea surface temperature) at New York City at 40.7°N is 73 °F (23 °C), while at the same latitude in Eureka, CA is 57 °F (14 °C). As such, ocean surf temperatures are rarely above 70 F during the summer along the California south coast, while they are often above 82 °F (28 °C) on the east coast from North Carolina southward. The cold water is highly productive due to the upwelling, which brings to the surface nutrient-rich sediments, supporting large populations of whales, seabirds and important fisheries. Winds of the appropriate direction and strength to induce upwelling are more prevalent in the presence of Eastern boundary currents, such as the California Current. Phytoplankton production is dramatically increased in these areas because the nutrient-rich water lying below the pycnocline is relatively close to the surface and is thus easily upwelled. Scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography said in 2011 that the average…