268 GANNETT 



lower and the extreme range of temperature less. At 

 Unalaska, 3 degrees south of Sitka, the mean temperature 

 is only 36 and the range of temperature is still smaller. 



While the mean annual temperature on this coast, 

 whose latitude ranges from 54 to 60, does not differ ma- 

 terially from that of Eastport, Maine, on the Atlantic coast 

 in latitude 45, the summer temperature is much colder 

 and the winter temperature much warmer. The statement 

 has been made that it is no colder at Sitka than in 

 Georgia. I believe this to be true in the sense that the 

 minimum temperature is no lower, but it represents only 

 a part of the facts, and much the less important part. It 

 is also true that it is no warmer at Sitka than it is on the 

 Arctic Circle, that is, the maximum temperature is no 

 greater, and for most economic purposes except the mak- 

 ing of ice, it is warmth, not cold, that concerns us. 



The annual rainfall is heavy over this entire coast. At 

 Sitka it is more than double that of the Atlantic coast, 105 

 inches a year being the record, and it diminishes but little 

 westward. At Unalaska the record is 92 inches. Rain 

 falls mainly in the autumn and winter, the summer being 

 comparatively dry. 



A description of climate would be incomplete if it 

 did not include the amount of sunshine and cloudiness, 

 since these are important factors in the growth of plant 

 life. At Sitka it is cloudy two-thirds of the time, and 

 nearly half of the time it is raining or snowing. At 

 Kadiak the conditions are a little better; at Unalaska 

 they are worse, for Unalaska is unrivaled for bad weather. 

 Only eight days in the year, during several years of record, 

 were entirely clear, and only 45 partly clear, the remain- 

 ing 312 being cloudy, and 271 of those were rainy or 

 snowy. 



Before attempting to explain these peculiarities of cli- 

 mate it should be stated that the sea commonly produces 



