PLANTS OF THE SAN BERNARDINO MOUNTAINS 



165 



that at San Bernardino, and one and three-tenths greater than that 

 at the station on Mill Creek near the base of the mountains. The 

 altitudinal distance between the last station and Bear Valley is 

 3550 feet, and the increased rainfall at the higher of them is 

 8.24 inches. The smnmit of San Gorgonio is 5224 feet above 

 Bear Valley, and with the same proportionate increase of rainfall 

 it would receive 11.85 inches more than the Valley, or a total 

 of 44.57 inches, which is probably less than the actual amount. 

 At all altitudes above 3500-4000 feet nearly four-fifths of the 

 precipitation is in the form of snow, which melts promptly at 

 the lower limits, but on the high peaks lingers into early summer, 

 and often later on northern exposures. Most of the precipita- 



TABLE 1 

 Mean monthly and annual precipitation in inches 



Barstow 



Bear Valley 



Dam 



Mill Creek 



San Bernardino 



Q 



H a 



< 



2,150 



6,500 

 2,950 

 1,054 





19 



20 

 10 

 42 





0.14 



0.22 

 0.13 

 0.03 



0.16 



0.68 

 0.09 

 0.17 



0.23 



0.57 

 0.79 

 0.17 



0.44 



1.37 

 1.07 

 0.60 



0.27 



2.39 

 1.29 

 1.37 



0.61 



3.61 

 2 53 

 2.59 



0.580.460.570.100.05 



7.184.568.87 

 4.583.706.82 

 3. 33.2. 8612. 921. 1910. 





580 



1.541 

 2.121.22 



580 



3.61 



17:32.74 

 0.1624.50 

 0815.89 



tion on the highest mountains finds its way into the Santa Ana 

 River, which seeks, but seldom reaches, the Pacific C '^an; the 

 rest of it is carried by the Whitewater and is absorbed by the 

 sands of the Colorado Desert. The valleys which drain to the 

 north are the headwaters of the Mojave River and their out- 

 flow would be carried by it to the great depression of Death 

 Valley, but under present climatic conditions ages have elapsed 

 since that destination was attained. 



Records of temperature are still more imperfect than those of 

 precipitation. At Little Bear Valley (5500 feet altitude) the 

 recorded extremes are 93° to —2° F. At Bear Valley (6500 feet 

 altitude) there is no high record, but for low —14° F. These 

 records cover a period of six years only, and give but an approxi- 



