A diagram showing the ocean currents affecting Galapagos © Galapagos Conservation Trust

The Cromwell Current is an oceanic current which flows close to the surface of the Pacific Ocean. It runs from the west to east. Nutrient and oxygen rich water carried by the Cromwell Current is forced to the surface near the Galapagos Islands in a process called upwelling. It was discovered in 1952 by Townsend Cromwell.