HUMBOLDT CURRENT Also known as the Peru Current, this ocean current flows northward along the western side of South America, offshore Chile and Peru.
El Niño's warm current of nutrient-poor tropical water, heated by its eastward passage in the Equatorial Current, replaces the cold, nutrient-rich surface water of the Humboldt Current which support great populations of food fish.
In most years the Humboldt current brings relatively cold water northward along the west coast of South America, an effect increased by upwelling of cold water along the Peruvian Coast.
 See also: Season, Upwelling, Temperature, Surface, Period
  
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