306 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1961 



Shiraz is right on the edge of the monsoon belt, which has an ad- 

 verse effect on observing conditions, as do also haze and dust. Trans- 

 portation into the city is by air, even heavy equipment now being sent 

 in by plane because there is no convenient seaport entry. 



Curagao, Netherlands West Indies. — Arrangements for this station 

 were made through Dr. P. C. Henriquez, secretary of the Develop- 

 ment Authority of the Netherlands Antilles Government. The De- 

 partment of Public Works of the island administration provided 

 drawings, contract arrangements, and supervision of the construction 

 of the buildings, and some materials. 



Curagao is about 40 miles from the Venezuela coast. Together 

 with the adjacent island of Aruba, it is the world's largest oil-refining 

 complex. Willemstad, the capital of the island, is one of the world's 

 major ports in terms of tonnage handled each year. 



The temperature on Curagao is about 80° F., day and night, winter 

 and summer. Rain is infrequent, and the whole island is extremely 

 dry. The station is about 4 miles from Willemstad, toward the center 

 of the island, on the Santa Barbara estate owned by the Newport 

 Mining Co. 



Jupiter^ Fla. — Originally, Cocoa Beach was considered as the sta- 

 tion site, but the Observatory finally decided on Jupiter because it was 

 away from sea spray and had what little elevation could be found in 

 Florida. The station, some 15 miles north of Palm Beach, is located 

 in Jonathan-Dickinson State Park, site of Fort Murphy, a U.S. 

 military training post during World War II. By February of 1958 the 

 camera house had been completed, and the U.S. Air Force made avail- 

 able to the station personnel a large administration building. 



Villa Dolores^ Argentina.— Kn agreement was drawn up between the 

 Smithsonian and the Observatorio Nacional Argentino for the estab- 

 lishment of the station near Villa Dolores in the general region of 

 Cordoba. Land was provided through the Astronomical Observatory 

 of the University of Cordoba. 



Villa Dolores is in central Argentina, over the high sierras from 

 Cordoba 100 miles away. It is a large rural town with a population 

 of about 30,000. The station is about 5 miles from Villa Dolores in 

 fiat, open farming country. The climate is good, but there is con- 

 siderable rain. 



Mount Haleahala^ Hawaii. — The station is located within 50 feet 

 of the top of Haleakala Mountain, the largest dormant volcanic crater 

 in the world.^^ The University of Hawaii supervised the construction, 

 and the Geophysical Institute of the University through the work of 



" Originally, the Smithsonian had considered establishing the station at the Mauna Loa 

 Observatory ; however, the possibility of volcanic eruption and the logistics problems pre- 

 sented by 50 miles of bad roads resulted In the rejection of that site. 



