Blowing Hot Air!

Did You know – that’s not water? Contrary to what most people think, whales do not actually spray water out of their blowholes. The blowhole is actually a whale’s nose on the top of its head. When inhaling they flex a muscle, which opens the blowhole, and take in a big gulp of air and then relax the muscle to close it. When exhaling the whale resurfaces and releases the used up air back into the atmosphere. This results in a spout, but it isn’t water (at least not at first). The air inside the whale is typically quite warm from the whale’s body heat. When it’s exhaled, it meets the much cooler temperature of the air outside and immediately condenses, making it look like a spout of water. (source)