WINDS 



401 



situated along oceans and gulfs have scant rainfall. For ex- 

 ample, the portions of Lower California which border on the 

 Pacific Ocean are arid and unproductive in spite of their 

 nearness to a vast supply of water. The barren sandy land 

 burned by the hot rays from the sun is warmer than the ocean 

 and does not chill the breezes which blow over it laden with mois- 

 ture. The winds are heated by the land instead of cooled by it 

 and take moisture away from the dry parched lands instead of 

 giving it to them. In summer the land is warmer than the 

 ocean, and the breezes which blow from it deposit no rain on 

 the land. In winter the land is cooler than the ocean and chills 

 the breezes and receives moisture from condensation. 



Winds. Winds pick up moisture from waters over which 

 they blow and carry it far and wide, depositing it finally as life- 

 giving snow or rain on mountains, plains, and valleys (Fig. 

 269). Without winds, evaporation of water from lakes, rivers, 

 and oceans would take place so slowly that the air would 

 contain little moisture; and that little moisture would not be 

 distributed far and wide over the land. 



4 





FIG. 269. New-fallen snow deposited on mountain tops from clouds. 



