

Climatic Conditions in Oregon. 83 



case throughout Oregon and on the Pacific Coast generally that there 

 is very little rain in summer and that most of the precipitation for the 

 year comes in the winter months. The proportion of sunshine is 

 larger east of the Cascade Mountains than west of those mountains, but 

 even in western Oregon there is more sunshine in summer than in the 

 states on the Atlantic Coast. Throughout the State there is much less 

 wind during the year than in the prairie states of the middle west 

 and for this reason there is much less evaporation of moisture from 

 the surface of the soil. 



The lofty ränge of the Cascade Mountains which extends throughout 

 the State from north to south divides the State into two sections which 

 differ widely. In the greater part of western Oregon the annual rainfall 

 is ample for the production of good crops of all fruits without the aid 

 of artificial irrigation. The exception to this is that portion of western 

 Oregon commonly referred to as southern Oregon, or the Rogue River 

 Valley, where irrigation is essential for the best results on much of the 

 land. In eastern Oregon the annual rainfall averages less than one- 

 fourth as much as in western Oregon. The largest rainfall at any 

 Station east of the Cascade Mountains at which observations have been 

 made for a considerable period of time has been recorded at Hood 

 River where it amounts to about 36 inches, closely approaching that 

 of some portions of the Willamette Valley in western Oregon. The 

 Hood River Valley, however, is not far east of the summit of the 

 Cascade Mountains, and the rainfall decreases rapidly to the eastward. 

 Under favorable conditions there are successful orchards which are not 

 artificially irrigated in a number of localities in eastern Oregon, even 

 where, in some cases, the annual rainfall is as low as 16 inches per 

 year, but the general rule in that portion of the State is that artificial 

 irrigation is essential to success in orcharding, and even at Hood River 

 where the annual rainfall exceeds 35 inches per year many of the 

 orchardists believe it pays to irrigate their orchards. Stone fruits, 

 particularly cherries, peaches, apricots and some varieties of plums can 

 be grown with less annual rainfall than is required for apples, and 

 most kinds of small fruits require even more rainfall than apples. 



In this article the word rainfall is used to include the total amount 

 of water which falls whether it comes in the form of rain or of snow. 



COUNTY CONDITIONS. 



The natural order of taking up counties for the purpose of giving 

 figures as to rainfall and temperature would be by groups of those 

 having like conditions but it is believed that it will best suit the con- 

 venience of inquirers to take up the counties alphabetically. 



BAKER COUNTY. 



Baker County is on the eastern border of the State, and on the 

 eastern slope of the Blue Mountains. At Baker, the county seat, the 

 elevation is 3,466 feet. The mean temperature for the year is about 

 45 degrees. Three years observations show the temperature of January 

 to be 20.3 degrees; April, 44.6; July, 66.9; October, 48.5. The rainfall 

 for the year is 13.7 inches. The growing season between killing frosts 

 is about 134 days. At Huntington, on the Snake River, the elevation 

 is 2,165 feet. The anuual temperature is 53.6 degrees; that of January, 

 32.1; April, 58.6; July, 81.5; October, 51.8. The length of season 

 between killing frosts is about 168 days, or about the same as at 

 Burlington, Iowa, Indianapolis, Indiana, and Roanoke, Virginia. At 



