114 THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF THE SEA. 



sport a while, and tlien gradually dies away as the sun rises. 

 The time at which it becomes calm after the land and sea breezes 

 is indefinite, and the calms are of unequal duration. 



262. " Generally, those which precede the sea-breeze are rather 

 lono-er than those which precede the land-breeze. The tempera- 

 ture of the land, the direction of the coast-line with respect to the 

 prevailing direction of the trade-wind in which the land is situ- 

 ated, the clearness of the atmosphere, the position of the sun, 

 perhaps also that of the moon, the surface over which the sea- 

 breeze blows, possibly also the degree of moisture and the elec- 

 trical state of the air, the heights of the mountains, their extent, 

 and their distance from the coast, all have influence thereon. 

 Local observations in regard to these can afford much light, as 

 well as determine the distance at which the land-breeze blows 

 from the coast, and beyond which the regular trade-wind or mon- 

 soon continues uninterruptedly to blow. The direction of land 

 and sea winds must also be determined by local observations, 

 for the idea is incorrect that they should always blow perpendic- 

 ular to the coast-line. 



263. " Scarcely has one left the Java Sea — which is, as it were, 

 an inland sea between Sumatra, Borneo, Java, and the archipelago 

 of small islands between both of the last named — than, in the blue 

 waters of the easterly part of the East Indian Archipelago, nature 

 assumes a bolder aspect, more in harmony with the great depth 

 of the ocean. The beauty of the Java Sea, and the delightful 

 phenomena which air and ocean display, have here ceased. The 

 scene becomes more earnest. The coasts of the eastern islands 

 rise boldly out of the water, far in whose depths they have plant- 

 ed their feet. The southeast wind, which blows upon the south- 

 ern coasts of the chain of islands, is sometimes violent, always 

 strong through the straits which separate them from each other, 

 and this appears to be more and more the case as we go eastward. 

 Here, also, upon the northern coast, we find land-breezes, yet the 

 trade-wind often blows so violently that they have not sufficient 

 power to force it beyond the coast. 



264. "Owing to the obstruction which the chain of islands pre- 

 sents to the southeast trade-wind, it happens that it blows with 



