FACT CHECK: Does This Video Show The Atlantic And Pacific Oceans Meeting?

A video shared on Facebook allegedly shows the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans meeting but not mixing.

Verdict: False

The video shows a river plume where the Fraser River meets the Strait of Georgia near Vancouver.

Fact Check:

In the video, two bodies of water – one dark blue, the other brown – appear to meet and form a distinct delineation. The caption alleges the video shows “where the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean meet without mixing.” (RELATED: Does This Photo Show Japanese Police Spraying ‘Looters And Rioters’ With Blue Dye?)

That is, however, not what the video actually shows. A reverse image search of key frames traced it back to a 2015 YouTube video that, according to its description, captures a natural phenomenon where the Fraser River meets the Strait of Georgia near Vancouver, Canada. The logo for the British Columbia-based BC Ferries is visible on the boat in the footage.

“The river water (Fraser River) flows into the ocean water (Strait of Georgia): a short video clip shot from the BC Ferries boat from Nanaimo, Vancouver Island (Duke Point) to Vancouver (Tsawwassen),” reads the YouTube video’s description.

Ocean Networks Canada explains that the phenomenon stems from the fresh water carried by the Fraser River mixing “with ocean water to form a thin plume of buoyant brackish water” and that “a sharp change in the currents occurs where the ocean colour and salinity change rapidly, signifying the edge of the plume.” The Fraser River Plume becomes more distinct during the early summer when the river water carries “high sediment loads,” according to Ocean Networks Canada.

Photos showing the Fraser River Plume can be found on the stock photo website Alamy.

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