Maelstrom

mal'strum, a famous whirlpool. It is situated off the Norwegian coast between two of the Lofoden Islands. The channel is about twenty fathoms deep. The tidal currents run from north to south for six hours, then for six hours in the opposite direction, creating a tremendous whirling of the water. The whirlpool is greatest at high tide or low tide. When the wind sets squarely against the current, the channel becomes furious. A ship cannot weather it. Whales have been dashed to their death on the rocks and thrown up on the shore. There is peril enough, but stories of ships engulfed and boats sucked down into the depths have been exaggerated to such an extent that the maelstrom has become a proverbial expression for certain sorts of danger.