A continuation of the Gulf Stream , originating at about 40 degrees latitude and 50 degrees longitude, comprising all the easterly and northerly currents of the North Atlantic originating in the region east of the Grand Banks. The branches of the North Atlantic current are often masked by shallow and variable, wind-driven surface movements so that they are sometimes called the North Atlantic drift . Along the mid-Atlantic ridge the North Atlantic current is divided into two major branches; the northern branch flows between latitudes 50 degrees and 52 degrees separated from the Labrador current by the cold wall . The other branch flows approximately in latitude 45 degrees and carries undiluted Gulf Stream water. Of these branches the northern continues mainly toward the east-northeast and divides, part flowing into the Norwegian Sea and part turning toward the north and northwest eventually giving rise to the Irminger current .