The most important ocean-current system in the northern hemisphere, which stretches from Florida to north-western Europe. It incorporates several currents: the Florida Current, the Gulf Stream itself, and an eastern extension, the North Atlantic Drift. The Florida Current is fast, deep, and narrow, but after passing Cape Hatteras the Gulf Stream becomes less effective at depth and develops a series of large meanders which form, detach, and re-form in a complicated manner. After passing the Grand Banks (off Newfoundland), the flow forms the diffuse, shallow, slower-moving North Atlantic Drift. The temperature (18–20 °C) and salinity (36?) tend to be seasonally constant, unlike neighbouring coastal water masses.