The warm, moist air that spews from a whale's blowhole when it exhales. Whales are warm blooded mammals that breathe oxygen, and they come to the surface of the water to inhale and exhale through a blowhole on the top of their heads. The air that they blow out has been heated in their lungs. When it comes into contact with the cool outside air, it condenses and turns into a steamy spray, much like how we can see our own breath in cold weather. Experts can tell different types of whales from the different ways in which they spout. A whale's spout can shoot up to 20 feet in the air and be seen from a mile away.