IP s t e I s i a 137 



influence of the ocean, has cool summers and 

 very mild winters, with exceedingly heavy rain- 

 fall which is heaviest in winter, but abundant 

 even in summer. There are limited areas along 

 this coast where frost is very rare, or almost un 

 known, but in most places there are two or three 

 weeks of frosty weather each winter. 



As the summer clouds and fogs are generally 

 low-lying and are intercepted by hills fifteen 

 hundred to two thousand feet high, the interior 

 of the island has much hotter and dryer summers 

 than the west coast, while the winters are some- 

 what more severe than in that region. 



Mountains of moderate height even near the 

 coast have a climate much like the interior of 

 the island. In winter their climate is more 

 severe than that of the adjacent lowlands, and 

 there is a very heavy snowfall, but in summer as 

 they stand above the comparatively thin layer of 

 sea-cooled air, with its fogs and frequent rains, 

 they are much warmer and drier than the low- 

 lands. Above three thousand feet the usual 

 alpine changes in the climate begin to appear, 

 and above five thousand feet there is considerable 

 perpetual snow. 



