CLIMATE OF CENTRAL CHILL 



145 



the annual maxima and minima. The temperatures 

 are given in degrees of Fahrenheit's thermometer. 



Places. 



Rainfall 



in 

 inches. 



La Serena (Coquimbo) 



Valparaiso 



Santiago (1740 feefl 



above sea-level) ..../ 

 Talca (334 feet above'l 



the sea) / 



Valdivia 



Ancud, Island ofj 



Chiloe (164 feet) 



above the sea) ) 



Punta Arenas* (Straitsi 



of Magellan) ) 



1-6 

 13-5 



14-5 



134-0 

 22-5 



This table brings out very clearly the influence of 

 the cold southern currents of the ocean and air in 

 reducing the summer heat of the western side of South 

 America ; for, while the winter temperatures are not 

 very different from those of places similarly situated 

 on the west side of Europe and North Africa, those 

 of summer are lower by 8° or 10° Fahr., and the 

 mean of the year is lower by 6° or 7° than that of 

 places in the same latitude on the east side of South 

 America. It is also apparent that much of what has 

 been stated in works of authority as to the climate 

 of this region is altogether incorrect. In his great 

 work on the " Vegetation of the Earth," Grisebach 

 gives the mean temperature of Santiago as 67'5°, or 

 nearly 12° higher than the mean result of ten years' 

 observation, and the rainfall as over 40 inches, or 



* I believe that in the column for rainfall at Punta Arenas, snow has 

 not been taken into account. 



