The Cromwell Current was discovered in 1952 by Townsend Cromwell, a researcher with the Honolulu Laboratory. It is 250 miles (400 km) wide and flows to the east. It is hidden 300 feet (100 m) under the surface of the Pacific Ocean at the Equator and is relatively shallow compared to other ocean currents being only 100 feet from top to base. It is a powerful current with top velocities of up to 1.5 m/s. The current's core coincides with the thermocline and its distance from the parallel Equatorial Counter Current is approximately 300 km. It has 1000 times the volume of Mississippi River and its length is 3500 miles (6000 km).