A "maelstrom" (MAYL-strum) – from the Dutch for "to whirl round" – is a powerful or destructive whirlpool.
Example (as used by Farley Mowat in The Farfarers): "The murk became thicker as Zachareesi fishtailed his canoe through a swirling maelstrom of currents pouring past, and over, unseen rocks."
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