a northwestern direction between the Kuroshio Current and the Kuroshio Extension. This is drastic shrinkage from the surface to about 200 m below. At the surface, the boundary that separates the westward and eastward flows from south of 20⁰N to about 25–30⁰N at 200 m. The "C-shape" in the western region of the Subtropical Gyre, including the Subtropical Countercurrent, generally does not exist below 200 m. At about 1000–1500 m, the Subtropical Gyre is located entirely in the western region of the North Pacific near the Kuroshio Current and Kuroshio Extension. In the subtropical regions, flow is weak where influences from the Subtropical Gyre are minimal. Differences in steric heights over distances of 1000 km are on the order of 1 cm, rather than the differences of 10 cm within the area of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Garbage patch See also Ecosystem of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre Great Pacific garbage patch Marine pollution North Atlantic garbage patch Ocean current South Atlantic Gyre References Further reading External links Ocean currents Pacific Ocean Oceanic gyres ru:Северное Тихоокеанское течение sv:Nordpacifiska strömmen