As part of the French-American Ridge Atlantic program French-American Zero-Angle Photon Spectrometer and Rocks (FAZAR) cruise conducted water column studies between 33 and 40 ¿N along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) to detect hydrothermal activity and map its influence. This paper describes the large-scale hydrography within the axial valley, with particular emphasis on the hydrothermally active Lucky Strike segment (37¿17'N). The FAZAR study area is affected by the presence of the Azores Current and Metierrranean Water (MW). Although the MW core has been mapped as far north as 50 ¿N off the ridge, the northern boundary of the MW within the MAR in the FAZAR study area exists as a strong front south of the Azores platform. This front is most likely caused by the shallower ridge crest becoming a physical barrier to the MW. The Lucky Strike segment lies within this front and, as a result, has complicated hydrography which can obscure hydrothermal temperature and salinity anomalies. ¿ American Geophysical Union 1995.