MÆLSTROM, a dangerous whirlpool on the coast of Norway, in the sixty-eighth degree of latitude, in the province of Nordland and the district of Lofoten, and near the island of Moskoe, whence it also takes the name of Moskoe-ström. Its violence and noise exceed that of a cataract, being heard at a great distance, and without any intermission, except a quarter every sixth hour, that is, at the turn of high and low water, when its impetuosity seems checked; and this short interval is the only time during which the fishermen can venture in; but the motion soon returns, and, however calm the sea may be, gradually in-
creases, with such a draught and vortex, as to absorb whatever comes within its sphere of action, and keep it under water for some hours, when the fragments, shivered by the rocks, again appear.