346 Fall of Bain in the Lake District of Cumberland. 



REMARKS ON THE FOREGOING TABLE. 



When it is borne in mind, that the period comprehending the above 

 results has been one of the driest on record, we must admit, that the 

 quantity of rain annually deposited in the Lake and mountain district is 

 indeed great, beyond all anticipation. An inspection of a map of the 

 county, in connection with the table, will shew that the three wettest 

 portions of the Lake district (Seathwaite, Gatesgarth, and Wasdale), are 

 those situate at the extremities of our highest mountain ridges, amongst 

 which are Great Gavel, Sea Fell, High Stile, Red Pike, and Honister, the 

 former being apparently the grand central point which attracts and con- 

 denses the warm vapour arriving in a south-westerly direction across the 

 Atlantic ; and it is also a remarkable coincidence, that most of our lakes, 

 both large and small, bear in the direction of Gavel, so that, if extended 

 onward in a direct line, they would all converge at the base of this noble 

 mountain. 



Prior to the establishment of these gauges, the vale of Grasmere, in 

 Westmoreland, was considered to be the wettest locality in Great Bri- 

 tain. But here we find that, in twelve months, Grasmere has been ex- 

 ceeded at Gatesgarth by 14.460 inches, or one-fifth, and at Wasdale by 

 10.00 inches, or one-seventh nearly. 



Yet immense as is the deposit of rain at Gatesgarth, Wasdale, and in 

 other portions of the district, even these enormous quantities sink into 

 comparative insignificance, when compared with the fall at Seathwaite, a 

 small hamlet at the head of the vale of Borrowdale. From the 1st 

 January to the 30th June, in the present year, a period marked by 

 a deficient supply of moisture, the fall at Seathwaite is no less than 

 56.97 inches, being 8 inches, or one-fifth, more than at Gatesgarth, and 

 14^ inches, or one-third, more than at Wasdale, in six months only. 



Now, it is chiefly the deposit in the vale of Borrowdale, and on the 

 high range of mountains surrounding it, which supplies the majestic 

 river Derwent, and the extensive and picturesque lakes of Derwent and 

 Bassenthwaite, so that we might, d priori, have expected to find the 

 greatest amount of rain in this portion of the district. 



The great diiFerence in the fall between Ennerdale Lake and Stoney- 

 wath, and between Loweswater, Buttermere, and Gatesgarth, each about 

 two miles distant from the other, is worthy of notice. The current of 

 vapour is apparently' only partially decomposed in passing over a flat or 

 even an undulating country, but on reaching tlie mountains, the sudden 

 change of temperature causes a rapid condensation, in the form of vast 

 torrents of rain, whilst comparatively' little descends on the adjacent 

 plains. That the rapid increment in the fall, in the mountainous dis- 

 tricts, is owing to thi? cause, and not to the greater number of wet days, 

 is evident, on an inspection of the table, where it will be found that we 

 have fully as many wet days at Whitehaven, nearly level with the sea ; 

 indeed, it rarely rains in the Lake district, that the day is not also wet, 

 more or less, at the coast. The utility and beauty of this arrangement 

 is obvious, since the mountain torrents afFord a continous supply of wa- 

 ter to our lakes and rivers, which otherwise could scarcely have an ex- 

 istence. J. F. Miller. 



Whitehaven, July 18. 1845. 



