EarthMapped Ocean gyres
World map of the five major ocean gyresNorth AtlanticSouth AtlanticNorth PacificSouth PacificIndian Ocean

Ocean Gyres Map

There are 5 major ocean gyres: the North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific and Indian Ocean gyres. Each is a ring of currents that turns clockwise north of the equator and counterclockwise south of it.

  • Gyre. A large system of rotating ocean currents. There are five major gyres: the North and South Pacific, the North and South Atlantic, and the Indian Ocean. Source
  • Coriolis effect. Earth's rotation turns moving water and air to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. Source

Data source: NOAA Ocean Service gyre figure, traced by EarthMapped, Public domain (US government work). Download: GeoJSON .

Last updated

What the map shows

A gyre Gyre. A large system of rotating ocean currents. There are five major gyres: the North and South Pacific, the North and South Atlantic, and the Indian Ocean. Source is a large loop of ocean currents. The map draws the four currents that make up each of the five major gyres in color, red for warm water and blue for cold, with a dashed loop that shows which way the gyre turns. Gray lines are currents that do not belong to one of the five loops, such as the Labrador Current. The paths come from the NOAA Ocean Service gyre figure, traced by hand, so they show the general route of each current.

Every gyre has the same four sides. A western boundary current Western boundary current. The strong, narrow, warm current on the western side of a gyre, such as the Gulf Stream. The eastern side has a weak, broad current. Source runs along the coast on the west side of the ocean basin, carrying warm water away from the equator. A current on the poleward side carries water across the ocean. An eastern boundary current brings cooler water back toward the equator, and an equatorial current closes the loop as it flows west.

Why gyres turn

Winds set the surface water moving. Earth's rotation then turns it: the Coriolis effect Coriolis effect. Earth's rotation turns moving water and air to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. Source deflects moving water to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. That is why the North Atlantic and North Pacific gyres turn clockwise, and the three southern gyres turn counterclockwise. Near the equator the effect fades away, so no gyre forms there.

Key facts

  1. NOAA names 5 major gyres: North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific, Indian Ocean. 3 of them lie in the Southern Hemisphere. NOAA Ocean Service, What is a gyre?
  2. Currents are driven by wind, tides and differences in water temperature and salt. The larger, more permanent currents form the gyres. NOAA Ocean Service, What is a gyre?
  3. Northern Hemisphere gyres turn clockwise and Southern Hemisphere gyres turn counterclockwise. No gyre forms at the equator, where the Coriolis effect is absent. NOAA Ocean Service, Surface currents
  4. Each gyre has a strong, narrow current on its western side and a weak, broad one on its eastern side. On this map all five western boundary currents are warm. NOAA Ocean Service, Surface currents
  5. The South Atlantic, South Pacific and Indian Ocean gyres share one poleward side: the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which flows east around Antarctica.
  6. "Gyre" is sometimes also used for areas where plastic waste and other debris collect, but the word traditionally means a large system of rotating currents. NOAA Ocean Service, How big is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?

The 5 gyres and their currents

Each gyre with the current on each of its sides, as drawn on the NOAA figure.

The five major ocean gyres and the currents that form them
GyreHemisphereTurnsWestern sidePoleward sideEastern sideEquator side
North Atlantic Gyre Northern Clockwise Gulf Stream warm North Atlantic Current warm Canary Current cold North Equatorial Current warm
South Atlantic Gyre Southern Counterclockwise Brazil Current warm Antarctic Circumpolar Current cold Benguela Current cold South Equatorial Current warm
North Pacific Gyre Northern Clockwise Kuroshio Current warm North Pacific Current warm California Current cold North Equatorial Current warm
South Pacific Gyre Southern Counterclockwise East Australian Current warm Antarctic Circumpolar Current cold Peru Current cold South Equatorial Current warm
Indian Ocean Gyre Southern Counterclockwise Agulhas Current warm Antarctic Circumpolar Current cold West Australian Current cold South Equatorial Current warm

Data source: NOAA Ocean Service gyre figure, traced by EarthMapped, Public domain (US government work). Download: GeoJSON .

See every current on the ocean currents map, follow the best known western boundary current on the Gulf Stream map, or read what ocean currents are and what drives the deep ones. The ocean floor map shows what lies below the gyres.

Print this map Ocean currents worksheet. Label the currents and the five gyres, with an answer key

Glossary

Gyre
A large system of rotating ocean currents. There are five major gyres: the North and South Pacific, the North and South Atlantic, and the Indian Ocean. Source
Coriolis effect
Earth's rotation turns moving water and air to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. Source
Western boundary current
The strong, narrow, warm current on the western side of a gyre, such as the Gulf Stream. The eastern side has a weak, broad current. Source
Warm current
A current that flows from the equator toward the poles, mostly along the east coasts of continents, and carries warm tropical water. Source
Cold current
A current that flows toward the equator, mostly along the west coasts of continents, and brings cool water from the polar regions. Source

All terms in the glossary

Ocean gyres FAQ

What are the 5 major ocean gyres?
The North Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Pacific, South Pacific and Indian Ocean gyres. NOAA lists each of them as a subtropical gyre.
Why do gyres turn in different directions?
Because of the Coriolis effect. Earth's rotation bends moving water to the right in the Northern Hemisphere, so gyres there turn clockwise, and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere, so gyres there turn counterclockwise.
Which current is the western boundary of the North Atlantic Gyre?
The Gulf Stream. It is strong, narrow and warm, and on the far side of the gyre the Canary Current flows south. See the Gulf Stream map.
Is there a gyre at the equator?
No. The Coriolis effect is absent at the equator, so the equatorial currents form the lower edge of the gyres on each side instead of their own loop.
Is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch a gyre?
No. It is a popular name for marine debris in the North Pacific Ocean, where the North Pacific Gyre turns. NOAA says the name covers several areas of concentrated marine debris, not one place, and that much of it is small pieces of floating plastic rather than an island of trash.

Sources: NOAA Ocean Service, What is a gyre?; NOAA Ocean Service, Surface currents; NOAA Ocean Service, How big is the Great Pacific Garbage Patch?.