6 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. 128 



weather at Point Barrow is its aridity. The average annual precipita- 

 tion is only about 4 inches. There is no building-up of the ice reserve 

 on the northern slope of the Brooks Range, which is 250 miles to the 

 south of Point Barrow, Therefore, one can estimate that, even after 

 eliminating loss by evaporation, approximately 10 million acre-feet 

 of fresh water empty annually into the ocean. At least four-fifths of 

 this flows into the ocean east of Point Barrow, where currents carry 

 it mainly westward to the Point and sometimes beyond. 



Although the relative humidity is usually high, the temperature is 

 so low that Httle moisture is held. It is cloudy 50 to 60 percent of 

 the time. There are more clear days in winter just before, during, 

 and just after those months when the sun is below the horizon. Any 

 day of the year may bring a snow flurry, though during June, July, 

 August, and September the precipitation is usually in the form of a 

 drizzly rain. As one goes by plane between Point Barrow and the 

 Brooks Range (250 miles) during the summer, one is almost certain 

 somewhere to pass over a white strip where there has been a snow 

 squall. Such strips are about 10 miles wide. In the afternoon of 

 July 23, 1948, 3 inches of snow fell at Point Barrow. 



February 1950 was the coldest month on record, with an average 

 temperature of —23.8° F. The lowest temperature on record there 

 is —56° F. The highest in 1946 was on July 10 with 73° F. and the 

 lowest the same year was —Z1° ^ •■> which was recorded on three 

 different days — February 25, March 10, and December 29. The 

 highest temperature in 1949 was 63° F. on August 11, and the lowest 

 that year was — 51° F. on February 16. The highest temperature that 

 Ray (1885) recorded during his stay near Point Barrow was 60.5° F., 

 and the lowest was —52.6° F. 



Much of the dredging I did was carried on in fog of such density 

 that visibiHty was limited to one-fourth mile or less. An interesting 

 phenomenon was the presence of a bright spot in the fog on the side 

 opposite the sun. By knowing the time of day, the proper direction of 

 the boat could be determined by this lighter area, which was a great 

 help in navigation since compasses were unreliable because of the 

 nearness to the magnetic pole and the consequent high angle of the 

 magnetic dip, or the magnetic lines of force. I learned to depend 

 for navigation more on my own senses and those of the Eskimo 

 boatmen (particularly the latter) than on a compass. 



Although many days are relatively calm, winds are changeable and 

 at times come up quickly to gale force. The average velocity is 

 12 miles an hour, but winds of 40 miles are not uncommon. While 

 the boat and its crew were returning from one dredging trip about 



