The eastern boundary current of the south Pacific subtropical gyre, also known as the Humboldt Current. The Peru/Chile current originates where part of the water that flows toward the east across the subantarctic Pacific Ocean is deflected toward the north as it approaches South America. It flows northward along the coast of Chile, Peru, and Ecuador, and is associated with the economically most important coastal upwelling of the World Ocean. The upwelling region extends from 40°S into the equatorial region, where the current separates from the coast and turns toward the west, joining the South Equatorial Current, and the coastal upwelling blends into the equatorial upwelling belt.