28 RURAL MICHIGAN 



imity to one of the Great Lakes, to the prevailing 

 direction of the wind, or to all of these factors taken 

 together. While Escanaba and Cheboygan arc lo- 

 cated on the Lake shore, their winter precipitation 

 is less (4.6 and 5 inches, respectively), but each is 

 on the leeward side of the State, and benefits accord- 

 ingly.i 



If. however, depth of snow rather than amount 

 of precipitation is considered, a marked difference 

 is noted between the northern and southern lati- 

 tudes of Michigan. The normally lower tempera- 

 tures which obtain to the northward produce snow 

 rather than rain in the early and late months of 

 winter, and rarely rise to the level of a thaw. Hence 

 snow that falls in November may remain on the 

 ground until April, occasionally longer. The effect 

 of each storm is cumulative. The result is that 

 Calumet enjoys as much as 120 inches of snow in 

 a year, and Ishpeming nearly that quantity. In 

 1891 Marquette had 172 inches of snow, while 

 Houghton in the winter of 1919-1920 had the un- 

 precedented snow-fall of 208 inches. On the av- 

 erage, it has been 113 inches during the past twenty 

 years. The counties bordering on Lake Huron in 

 the southern peninsula have a deeper snow covering 

 in winter, although less precipitation than those 

 adjacent to Lake Michigan (50 to 60 inches), be- 

 cause of the cooling effect of the land in one case 

 and the warming effect of the lake in the other.- 



' "Cliraatoloffv of the U. S.." 556. 



^Seeley: "The Climate of Michigan," etc., 16-17. 



