248 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



CLIMATE OF CALIFORNIA, BRIEFLY DESCRIBED. 



There are essentially two climates in California. The land climate 

 and the sea climate. The latter derives its low temperature from the 

 ocean, the water of which, along the coast, stands at from 52 to 54 degrees 

 all the year round. The evenness of the ocean temperature is owing to a 

 steady current from the north, which is accompanied also by winds in the 

 same direction during the entire summer season, or rather from April to 

 October inclusive. 



Almost daily, during this period, a deluge of cold, damp air, of the same 

 temperature as the ocean over which it has passed, is poured upon the 

 land. It is mostly laden with mists in dense clouds, which it deposits at 

 the foothills and on the slopes of the highlands, or carries a short distance 

 into the interior, wherever there is a break in the land wall. 



The land climate is as nearly as possible the opposite in every respect. 

 In summer and autumn it is hot and dry. It undergoes various modifi- 

 cations from the configuration of the surface of the earth. Even the 

 mountains, which retain the snow to a late period, present a high temper- 

 ature in the middle of the day, and the presence of snow on their summits 

 in June, is owing to the great mass which has accumulated on them, rather 

 than to cold weather. A large district of territory lies between the juris- 

 diction of the two climates and subject to their joint influence. It is 

 composed chiefly of valleys surrounding the bay of San Francisco and 

 penetrating into the interior in every direction. There is no climate in 

 the world more delightful than these valleys enjoy, and no territory more 

 productive. Whilst the ocean prevents the contiguous land from being 

 scorched in summer, it also prevents it being frozen in winter. Hence ice 

 and snow are not common in the ocean climate. 



The difference in temperature is comparatively slight between summer 

 and winter. The absence of warm weather in the summer months is 

 characteristic of the coast climate, and strikes a stranger forcibly. The 

 most ordinary programme of this climate for the year is as follows, begin- 

 ning with the rainy season: The first decided rains are in November or 

 December, when the country, after having been parched with drought, 

 puts on the garb of spring. In January the rains abate and vegetation 

 advances slowly, with occasional slight frosts. February is spring-like, 

 with but little rain. March and April are pleasant and showery, with an 

 occasional hot day. In May the sea breeze begins, but does not give much 

 annoyance. In June, just "as warm weather is about to set in, the sea 

 breeze comes daily and keeps down the temperature — it continues through 

 July and August, occasionally holding up for a day or two, permitting the 

 sun to heat the air to a sweating point. In September the sea wind mod- 

 erates, and there is a slight taste of summer, which is prolonged into the 

 next month. The pleasant weather often lingers in the lap of winter, and 

 is interrupted only by the rains of November or December. 



Though the nights in the interior are not so uniformerly cool, yet there 

 are few localities, even in the valleys, where they are too warm for sleep- 

 ing, even though the day temperature may have reached 100 degrees. 

 This is a remarkable feature of the climate of the Pacific States, and it 

 has an important bearing on the health, vigor, and character of the popu- 

 lation. In speaking of the "rainy season," strangers will not infer that 

 the rain is perpetual, or nearly so, during that time. The term is employed 

 only in contrast with the dry season, and it implies the possibility rather 

 than the actual occurrence of rain. In more than half the winters there 



