CALIFORNIA COAST CLIMATES 13 



so much farther south, and misseJ his calculation because they 

 ripened later there than on his old place in the Sacramento valley. 



"That almost any extreme of weather," says Professor McAdie 

 in his publication just cited, "can be found within the limits of Cali- 

 fornia is readily comprehensible when it is considered that the state 

 is 800 miles in length, contains a hundred million acres, and varies 

 from deserts as much 280 feet below the sea to Shasta 14,380 feet, or 

 the High Sierra, where 66 peaks exceed 10,000 feet in height, while 

 40 exceed 13,000 feet, and Mount Whitney rises to 14,502 feet." 



It is apparent, then, in view of such diverity, that the selection of 

 locations for orchards must be made with a knowledge of special 

 conditions governing the distribution of equal temperatures and 

 other natural agencies contributing to the development of fruit. 

 This distribution, as has been intimated, is not by parallels of lati- 

 tude, great circles which appear as straight lines on a map, but by 

 curves, which proceed in various directions, governed chiefly by 

 topography. These are curves of temperature, of rainfall, of eleva- 

 tion, of soil formation and deposit. Geography must be interpreted 

 by topography and climatography. 



Let these ruling conditions be reviewed, then, briefly : First, as 

 to general areas; second, with reference to special situations and 

 locations. 



COAST CLIMATE 



The chief characteristics of the coast are equable temperature, 

 increasing southward; summers cool and winters warm, as com- 

 pared with the interior; abundant rainfall, decreasing considerably 

 southward ; a somewhat humid atmosphere, as compared with the 

 interior ; frequent fogs or overcast skies ; prevailing westerly winds. 



The extension of coast influence toward the interior is governed 

 by local topography. Coast valleys open to ocean winds are cooler 

 and moister and demand hardier fruits than valleys sheltered by 

 intervening ranges. Gaps and passes in the ranges are subject to 

 winds of considerable force and low temperature, and are not gener- 

 ally favorable for fruit; on the other hand, situations sheltered on 

 the north and west favor growth of fruits even though quite near 

 the coast. Sometimes a distance of a few miles, sometimes a wind- 

 break or natural forest, or of planted trees, so modifies coast in- 

 fluences that fruits do well. Elevation on the sides of coast valleys 

 secures similar results. For example, the floor of the Pajaro Valley 

 is well suited for apples, late pears, cherries, plums, prunes, and 

 berries (except gooseberries), while on adjacent hillsides peaches 

 do well. 



In Southern California, coast winds are warmer than in the upper 

 half of the State, but coast influences intrude farther, as a rule, 

 because the hills near the coast in Southern California are low ; the 

 high ranges, answering to the Coast Range of the upper part of the 

 State, trending far into the interior. On the coast side of these 

 r&nges fruits ripen later than in sheltered interior points in the 

 upper part of the State, but eastward of the mountains, where soil 



