BOTANICAL TRIP HITCHCOCK 337 



than 15° F. The rainfall by months in inches (United States 

 Weather Bureau) is as follows: 



Inches 



January 9.92 



February 9. 75 



March 7. 52 



April 5.22 



May 2.33 



Inches 



June 0. 75 



July .41 



August . 00 



September . 11 



October .43 



Inches 



November 0.27 



December 1. 84 



Total 38.65 



The mountainous portion of Ecuador, the Cordillera, consists of 

 two main nearly parallel chains with high valleys or plateaus be- 

 tween. The interior valley is divided into depressions by cross 

 ridges. The only railroad of importance runs from Guayaquil east 

 to Bucay and there begins the ascent of a valley, climbing past 

 Huigra and Alausi to the pass at about 10,000 feet, then descends 

 into one of the valleys to Riobamba, then over another pass, at 

 Urbina (nearly 12,000 feet) on the flank of Chimborazo, and into 

 another valley with Ambato as its center. There is another pass 

 in the vicinity of Cotopaxi, and one then descends into the valley 

 of Quito, the northern terminus of the railroad. The valleys are 

 8,000 to 10,000 feet altitude. Further northward there are the 

 valleys in which lie the cities of Ibarra and Tulcan. The climate 

 in these valleys is temperate and equable. The altitude of Quito 

 is about 9,500 feet, and the climate is more bleak than at Ambato 

 at about 8,500 where it is very satisfactory. The average yearly 

 temperature at Quito is about 12i/^° (54i/2° F.) but the daily varia- 

 tion may be as much as 18° (32° F.). The rainy season is from 

 January to May, and the total average annual precipitation is 1,120 

 mm. (40 inches), but since the city lies between two regions of oppo- 

 site rainfall periods (in the east Andes the rainy season is from 

 March to November) there is some rain during the dry season. 

 The average total for the five months of the rainy season, January 

 to May, is 654 mm. (according to Hann, Handbuch der Klimatol- 

 ogie), and 463 mm. for the dry season, June to December. 



There are about 20 snow-capped peaks in the Ecuadorean Cor- 

 dillera, some of them being among the highest of the Andes. The 

 three best known outside of the country are Chimborazo (about 

 20,500 feet), Cotopaxi (about 19,500), and Tunguragua (about 

 16,700 feet). These are majestic volcanic cones visible at a great 

 distance. 



The ladder-like structure of the Cordillera of Ecuador is shown 

 by the following table. The route from Tulcan on the north to Loja 

 on the south traverses eight major passes. The cities lie in the valleys 

 between. The passes are at approximately the lowest point in the 

 cross range. The heights in meters are taken from Wolf (Geografia 

 y Geologia del Ecuador), the equivalent being given as feet in paren- 



