Two types of streamline deflection for currents in a homogeneous ocean when crossing a submarine ridge or trough are compared, the Ekman type and the Sverdrup type. The significant difference between the two types may be explained by the relative importance of frictional forces as compared with the effect of the latitudinal variation of the Coriolis force. A note on the deflection of the horizontal mass transport in a stratified ocean is added and the result suggests that not the stratification but rather the Coriolis forces are responsible for producing the Sverdrup type of the streamline deflection.