316 TRANSACTIONS OF THE 



TEMPERATURE, ELEVATION, AND RAINFALL TABLES FOR 



CALIFORNIA. 



The tabulated matter in the following tables will be found to contain the 

 most valuable and comprehensive data that has ever before been published 

 on the meteorological and climatological conditions of this State as far as 

 the temperature and rainfall are concerned. Thanks to the early foresight 

 of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company in this State, in beginning 

 temperature observations: had they not done so, the following meteorolog- 

 ical facts could not now be obtained. The author of this work has occu- 

 pied his time two months or more, when not on duty as the Signal Service 

 Observer in this city (Sacramento), in compiling the mean average tem- 

 perature for the four seasons of the year, Winter, Spring, Summer, and 

 Autumn, along with the mean annual temperature, the highest and lowest 

 temperature, and the mean average rainfall. This work is the mean tem- 

 perature of many years, thereby increasing its value. For instance, I 

 would take all the mean Winter observations of say Auburn, for 1870 to 

 1885, and take the mean average of all those Winters (15), and that gives a 

 pretty good idea of the general Winter climate at that place. The data 

 therefore from which these tables have been taken covers a period of from 

 two to sixteen years and for Sacramento City thirty-four years. We have 

 in this table, the elevation of each station (when obtainable), the mean 

 average Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall temperature of many years, 

 also the mean average yearly temperature, the highest and lowest tem- 

 perature ever recorded, and the average seasonal rainfall of many years. 

 The table has been compiled in what might be termed sections, that is as 

 follows: 



Table 1 contains the counties of the Coast Range, and is termed, "Aver- 

 age temperature and rainfall of the Coast Range counties." 



Table 2, the ''Average temperature and rainfall of the Sacramento Val- 

 ley counties." 



Table 3, the "Average temperature and rainfall of the San Joaquin 

 Valley counties." 



Table 4 is composed of different counties over the State not included in 

 the above, and consists of San Bernardino County, the mountain division 

 of Placer County, Modoc, and Siskiyou Counties. Those counties not 

 represented in these tables are counties in which temperature observations 

 could not be obtained. The great majority of observers take no other 

 observations but those of rainfall. 



Table 1 — Showing the Average Temperature and Rainfall of the 



Coast Range Counties. 



The following counties are represented in Table I : Humboldt, Sonoma. 

 Xapa, Marin, Contra Costa, Alameda, Santa Clara, San Francisco. San 

 Mateo, Santa Cruz, Monterey, Santa Barbara, Los Angeles, and San Diego. 

 The lowest recorded temperatures below 20° occur in Sonoma, Napa, Ala- 

 meda, Santa Clara, Monterey, Los Angeles, and San Diego Counties as fol- 

 lows: 18°, 15°, 18°, 14°, 18°, 16°, and 19°, respectively, showing that our south- 

 ern coast counties have nearly as low a temperature as do the northern tier, 



