Humboldt Current

British  

/ ˈhʌmbəʊlt /

noun

1. Also called: Peru Current.  a cold ocean current of the S Pacific, flowing north along the coasts of Chile and Peru

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Humboldt Current Scientific  

/ hŭm′bōlt′ /

1. A cold ocean current of the South Pacific, flowing north along the western coast of South America from Chile to Peru. Extending up to 1,000 km (620 mi) offshore, the Humboldt Current results in significant cooling of the marine environment and influences the weather pattern that makes this section of coast one of the driest regions in the world. The current is also the world's largest upwelling current, bringing cold, nutrient-rich waters to the surface and creating an ecosystem abundant in plankton, fish, and other marine life. It is named after Baron Alexander von Humboldt, who explored this coast in 1802.

2. Also called Peru current

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Example Sentences

Other major upwelling systems include the Humboldt Current off Peru and the Benguela and Canary Currents along the west coast of Africa.

From Science Daily • Nov. 30, 2025

As the upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water from lower depths that characterizes the Humboldt Current slowed down, the water warmed, killing off the abundant plankton that feed the anchovetas.

From Slate • Feb. 4, 2024

But sometimes the cool Humboldt Current suddenly slows.

From New York Times • Dec. 19, 2018

Wedged between the Andes Mountains and the cold-water Humboldt Current of the Pacific, the coast of Peru is a climatological anomaly that continues to make it an attractive cradle of civilization.

From Golf Digest • May 16, 2018

The upwelling, known as the Humboldt Current, chills the air above it.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann