252 



EUROPE 



equability and a great uniformity of climate which are 

 its dominant features. The climate, on the whole, may be 

 described as cool temperate, with a moderate sunshine, 

 a moderate rainfall, moderate winds, a moderate atmo- 

 spheric moisture, yet with a marked seasonal rhythm. 

 Such conditions are the result of the westerly winds 

 which sweep across the Atlantic and penetrate far into 



FIG. 96. Mean Annual Rainfall of Europe. 



the Arctic circle. These breezes are not checked, as in 

 Pacific North America, by transverse barriers of moun- 

 tains, and therefore are able to extend their influence 

 to a considerable distance inland. Congruous with the 

 climatic conditions, the vegetation exhibits the same 

 features of equability and uniformity, finding its expres- 

 sion in a fairly continuous cover of forests of a cool 



