Whirlpools form when two opposing currents meet, causing water to rotate (like stirring liquid in a glass). This can happen when heavy winds cause water to travel in different directions. As the water circles, it gets funneled into a small cavity in the center, creating a vortex.

What is at the bottom of a whirlpool?

What's at the bottom of a whirlpool? Whirlpools are not, in fact, bottomless pits. Experiments have shown that whirlpools often pull objects to the bottom of the sea bed. They may then be moved along the sea floor by ocean currents.

Can whirlpools drown you?

Found in rivers, tidal waters near their mouths or other areas where currents swirl in more than one direction, whirlpools pose a potential danger of drowning.