Newfoundland Bank

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Newfoundland Bank with its currents
Nautical chart from 1861

The Newfoundland Bank ( English : Grand Banks ) is a group of underwater plateaus southeast of Newfoundland on the North American continental shelf . The area is known for rough seas.

The cold Labrador Current and the warm Gulf Stream meet there at depths of 25 to 100 meters . The coincidence of these two currents and the location on the shelf means that more nutrients are washed to the surface. These conditions help make the Newfoundland Bank one of the richest fishing grounds on earth. Fish species such as cod , haddock , but also scallops and American lobsters are caught. After times of extensive overfishing , strict rules have been in place by the Canadian government since the 1990s to give the fish stock time to recover.

In addition to the abundance of fish, the meeting of the cold and warm stream causes increased fog . Added to this are the occasional icebergs and the heavy traffic on the transatlantic shipping route, which makes the Newfoundland Bank a dangerous area for captains. The fishing trawler Andrea Gail also disappeared here.

On November 18, 1929, a seaquake with a magnitude of 7.2 occurred according to Richter in the southwestern part of the Newfoundland Bank. The resulting landslide caused great damage to the transatlantic telephone cables . In addition, there was a rare Atlantic tsunami , which hit the south coast of Newfoundland and in which 27 people lost their lives.

Also, oil deposits were discovered on the Grand Banks. The largest oil fields include the Hibernia , Terra Nova and White Rose projects . However, oil production suffered a setback in 1982 when the Ocean Ranger oil rig sank in a strong winter storm.

In the early morning hours of September 11, 1995 one of the highest waves ever was sighted over the Newfoundland Bank. The passenger ship Queen Elizabeth 2 was hit by a 33-meter-high monster wave on its way to New York , which was caused by Hurricane Luis , which pulled unusually far into the North Atlantic .

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