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SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. y^ 



is only 2,500 feet high, but since it is the continental divide, separat- 

 ing the wet Atlantic slope from the comparatively arid Pacific slope, 

 it influences to a remarkable degree the local distribution of the 

 plants. Ordinarily a locality of Pacific Central America with such 

 slight elevation as Tilaran (1,800 feet) would have a hot dry cli- 

 mate ; but the rain-laden clouds of the Atlantic plains force their 

 way westward over the crest of the cordillera and reach as far as 

 Tilaran before they are dissipated. At Tilaran it is nearly always 

 raining or misting, even when the sun is shining brightly. This might 



Fir,. 122. — A characteristic view along one of the rivers of the Pacific coast 

 of Costa Rica. (Photograph by M. Gomez Miralles.) 



well be called the land of rainbows, for with clouds, mist, and sunshine 

 it is seldom indeed that a rainbow is not to be seen. 



The rain and wind make the climate a cool one, much like that of 

 the central tableland of Costa Rica, whose elevation is twice as great. 

 The flora also is similar, and we find here, at only 1,800 to 2,500 feet, 

 many species that grow at altitudes of 5,000 to 8,000 feet in central 

 Costa Rica. 



Westward from Tilaran, beyond the influence of the clouds, the 

 climate changes quickly, and at a distance of one or two miles the 

 soil is parched during the winter months, and the heat excessive. 

 Some collecting was done in this arid region, particularly near the 

 gold mines at Libaiio ; nearly all the plants were difl^erent from those 

 growing but a few miles away in the humid vicinity of Tilaran. 



