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28-610: Tehuantepecer , or Tehuano wind , is a violent mountain-gap wind that travels through the Chivela Pass in southern Mexico , across the Isthmus of Tehuantepec . It is most common between October and February, with a summer minimum in July. It originates from eastern Mexico and the Bay of Campeche as a post-frontal northerly wind, accelerated southward by cold air damming , that crosses

56-481: A density ( temperature and dew point ) discontinuity, its leading edge by definition it is a cold front, though it has also been described as a squall line , with embedded rain squalls sometimes seen. Within polar orbiting imagery, a corridor of strong low-level winds show up this feature within scatterometer data retrievals, with its leading edge at the south to southwest edge of the wind surge. Tehuantepecers can be felt up to 160 kilometres (100 mi) out to sea in

84-609: A formal application to the Geographical Names Board of Canada . A parallel American movement promoting the name had a different definition, combining of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound as well as the Strait of Georgia and related waters under the more general name Salish Sea . This latter definition was made official in 2009 by geographic boards of Canada and the United States. In October 2009,

112-509: A tropical cyclone, though the sky is usually clear. The surface wind can also change local ocean currents during an event. These strong winds upwell sub-surface waters, cooling the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean by as much as 14 °F (9 °C), and may last 4–7 days. Mountain-gap wind Gap winds are low-level winds and can be associated with strong winds of 20-40 knots and on occasion exceeding 50 knots. Gap winds are generally strongest close to gap exit. Example flows include

140-640: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . See guidelines for writing about climate change . Further suggestions might be found on the article's talk page . Strait of Juan de Fuca The Strait of Juan de Fuca (officially named Juan de Fuca Strait in Canada) is a body of water about 96 miles (83 nmi; 154 km) long that is the Salish Sea 's main outlet to the Pacific Ocean . The international boundary between Canada and

168-501: Is from the north to north-northeast. It leads to a localized acceleration of the trade winds in the region, and can enhance thunderstorm activity when it interacts with the Intertropical Convergence Zone . The effects can last from a few hours to six days. Its leading edge shows up as a rope cloud within the visible and infrared channels of weather satellite images, and since it lies at the leading edge of

196-616: The Gulf of Maine boundary dispute . In this Atlantic Ocean context, Canada favours an outcome based on the principle of equidistance. In March 2008, the Chemainus First Nation proposed renaming the strait the " Salish Sea ", an idea that reportedly met with approval by British Columbia's Aboriginal Relations Minister Mike de Jong , who pledged to put it before the BC cabinet for discussion. Making Salish Sea official required

224-791: The Coho carried 475,000 passengers and 130,000 vehicles in 2018. A passenger-only ferry on the same route, named the Victoria Express , operated from 1990 to 2011. Victoria is also the terminus of the Victoria Clipper , a passenger-only ferry from Seattle . Sidney, located northeast of Victoria, is served by a seasonal extension the Washington State Ferries system's route serving the San Juan Islands and Anacortes, Washington . This strait remains

252-786: The Columbia River Gorge on the border of Washington and Oregon, the high frequency of gap winds has led to the installation of wind farms , and the large amount of wind surfing that takes place on the Columbia River. Another example is the Koshava wind in Serbia that blows along the Danube River. The South Carpathian Mountains and Balkan Mountains are channelling the flow into the Danube River basin in Romania and

280-526: The Galapagos Islands ). These strong winds bring cooler sub-surface waters to the surface of the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean and may last from a few hours to 6 days. The synoptic condition is associated with the formation of high-pressure systems in Sierra Madre in the wake of an advancing cold front. Tehuantepecers primarily occur during the cold season months for the region in

308-710: The United States runs down the centre of the Strait. It was named in 1787 by the maritime fur trader Charles William Barkley , captain of Imperial Eagle , for Juan de Fuca , the Greek navigator who sailed in a Spanish expedition in 1592 to seek the fabled Strait of Anián . Barkley was the first recorded person to find the strait, unless Juan de Fuca's story was true. The strait was explored in detail between 1789 and 1791 by Manuel Quimper , José María Narváez , Juan Carrasco , Gonzalo López de Haro , and Francisco de Eliza . The United States Geological Survey defines

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336-427: The gray whale , another cetacean with both residential and nomadic groups in the Strait. As migratory gray whales swim between Baja California and Alaska each year, they will often be seen in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, feeding on small marine creatures on the seafloor, and using the Strait as a sort of "rest stop" on their long journeys. They also socialize with and encounter the local, non-migratory gray whales in

364-563: The Strait of Juan de Fuca as a channel . It extends east from the Pacific Ocean between Vancouver Island , British Columbia, and the Olympic Peninsula , Washington, to Haro Strait , San Juan Channel, Rosario Strait , and Puget Sound . The Pacific Ocean boundary is formed by a line between Cape Flattery and Tatoosh Island , Washington, and Carmanah Point (Vancouver Island), British Columbia. Its northern boundary follows

392-545: The Washington State Board of Geographic Names approved the Salish Sea toponym , not to replace the names of the Strait of Georgia, Puget Sound, and Strait of Juan de Fuca, but instead as a collective term for all three. The British Columbia Geographical Names Office passed a resolution only recommending that the name be adopted by the Geographical Names Board of Canada , should its US counterpart approve

420-595: The climate of the Strait is disputed, with the Köppen system classifying it as Mediterranean , but most regional climatologists preferring oceanic . While the climate is mostly oceanic in nature, the dry summers result in the Mediterranean classification in the Köppen system. Rainfall ranges from over 100 inches (250 cm) ( temperate rainforest ) conditions at the west end to as little as 16 inches (410 mm) at

448-726: The east end, near Sequim . Because it is exposed to the generally westerly winds and waves of the Pacific, seas and weather in Juan de Fuca Strait are, on average, rougher than in the more protected waters inland, thereby resulting in a number of small-craft advisories , gale warnings , and storm warnings . An international vehicle ferry, the MV ; Coho , crosses the Strait from Port Angeles, Washington , to Victoria, British Columbia , several times each day. It began operating in 1959, replacing an earlier ferry, and remains privately owned;

476-596: The exiting jet at the Iron Gates is known as the Koshava wind. The main characteristics of the Koshava wind are its high wind speed, southeasterly direction, persistence, and gustiness. More generally, corridor winds affect the local climate of a region (south of France), as well as vegetation. They are also vectors of violent fires in the affected areas. The resulting gusts can reach more than 100 km/h and cause property damage. This article about climate change

504-603: The isthmus and blows through the gap between the Mexican and Guatemalan mountains. The term dates back to at least 1929. This wind can reach gale, storm, even hurricane force. The leading edge of its outflow (or cold front ) may form rope cloud over the Gulf of Tehuantepec . These winds can be observed on satellite pictures such as scatterometer wind measurements, they influence waves which then propagate as swell and are sometimes observed 1,600 km (1,000 mi) away (such as in

532-443: The line. Resolution of the issue should be simple, but has been hindered because it might influence other unresolved maritime boundary issues between Canada and the United States. In addition, the government of British Columbia has rejected both equidistant proposals, instead arguing that the Juan de Fuca submarine canyon is the appropriate "geomorphic and physiogeographic boundary". The proposed equidistant boundary currently marks

560-457: The name-change. The United States Board on Geographic Names approved the name on November 12, 2009. Counties along the Strait of Juan de Fuca: Regional districts along the Strait of Juan de Fuca: Certain groups of seabirds called common murre migrate north by swimming. Some Pacific Coast murres paddle north to the sheltered bays of the Strait of Juan de Fuca to feed on herring and other small fish. Humpback whales can be observed near

588-519: The northern boundary of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary . British Columbia's position is based on the principle of natural prolongation which developed in international law . It poses a dilemma for the federal government of Canada. If Canada holds that the principle of natural prolongation applies to the Juan de Fuca Canyon on its Pacific Ocean coast, the assertion could undermine Canada's argument in

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616-427: The shoreline of Vancouver Island from Carmanah Point to Gonzales Point, then follows a continuous line east to Seabird Point ( Discovery Island ), British Columbia, Cattle Point ( San Juan Island ), Washington, Iceberg Point ( Lopez Island ), Point Colville (Lopez Island), and then to Rosario Head ( Fidalgo Island ). The eastern boundary runs south from Rosario Head across Deception Pass to Whidbey Island , then along

644-422: The subject of a maritime boundary dispute between Canada and the United States. The dispute is only over the seaward boundary extending 200 nautical miles (370 km) west from the mouth of the strait. The maritime boundary within the strait is not in dispute. Both governments have proposed a boundary based on the principle of equidistance , but with different basepoint selections, resulting in small differences in

672-533: The surface winds blowing through the Strait of Gibraltar – one of the strongest winds in this region is called Levanter . Similar winds occur at other gaps in mountain ranges, such as the tehuantepecer and the jochwinde , and in long channels, such as the Strait of Juan de Fuca between the Olympic Mountains of Washington and Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Hinlopen Strait near Spitsbergen . In

700-506: The tropical eastern Pacific Ocean. Sustained winds at sea have been recorded as high as 49.9 m/s (97.0 kn), with gusts as high as 60.2 m/s (117.0 kn), with a wind event in February 1974 which sandblasted the ship which took the observation. These winds cause waves which then propagate as swell and are sometimes observed 1,600 kilometres (1,000 mi) away (e.g., in the Galapagos Islands ). Its effects can appear similar to

728-522: The wake of cold fronts, between October and February, with a summer minimum in July caused by the westward extension of the Azores-Bermuda high pressure system. Wind magnitude is greater during El Niño years than during La Niña years, due to the more frequent cold frontal incursions during El Niño winters. Tehuantepec winds reach 20 knots (40 km/h) to 45 knots (80 km/h), and on rare occasions 100 knots (190 km/h). The wind's direction

756-506: The western coast of Whidbey Island to Point Partridge , then across Admiralty Inlet to Point Wilson ( Quimper Peninsula ). The northern coast of the Olympic Peninsula forms the southern boundary of the strait. In the eastern entrance to the Strait, the Race Rocks Archipelago is in the high current zone halfway between Port Angeles, Washington, and Victoria, BC. Like the rest of the Salish Sea and surrounding regions,

784-478: The western end of the Strait of Juan de Fuca, mostly from June to November, especially in areas near Neah Bay and La Push . There is a resident (non-nomadic) population of killer whale in the Strait and surrounding waters, where they feed on spawning Chinook salmon . The migrating, so-called "transient" populations of killer whale often prey on the California sea lion and Steller's sea lion , in addition to

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