CLIMATE OF AEGENTINA. 



395 



the pumas die of thirst, and the sheep of hunger, and the vegetation is kept alive 

 entirely by the morning dews.* 



Accoi'ding to the observations of Moreno, the most arid district in the whole 

 of Patagonia is the region comprised within the basin of the Rio Deseado, a long 

 river which descends as a copious stream from the snowy uplands of the Cor- 

 dilleras, but which is reduced to the proportions of a mere rivulet before it reaches 

 its vast fiord- like outlet on the shores of the Atlantic. But if the plateaux and 

 plains sloping towards the Atlantic are destitute of moisture, the Andes regions 

 enjoy an abundant rainfall. The north-west winds, which blow with great 

 violence, and which discharge their contents on the slopes of the Pacific, find 

 numerous breaches through which they are able to reach the opposite side, which 

 thus receives a portion of their humidity. 



The other atmospheric currents, being arrested by the higher summits, also 

 precipitate some of their moisture in the form of rain or snow, and thus are 

 developed a few glaciers here and there on the crests of the Cordilleras. On the 

 Argentine side is also developed a chain of lakes along the foot of the highlands, 

 and numerous basins, whose liquid contents have long been evaporated, appear to 

 have at one time formed an almost continuous waterway between Lake Nahuel- 

 Huapi and Magellan Strait. On the other hand, Tierra del Fuego is still 

 sufficiently watered, even on the eastern plains roamed by the Ona nomads. 



In connection with the climate of Patagonia the naturalist John Ball argues» 

 against the commonly received opinion, that the southern is not colder than the 

 northern hemisphere. The mean temperature of the three points south of ÔC^ 

 south latitude, from which meteorological observations are available, considerably 

 exceeds 42" Fahr., as shown in the subjoined table : — 



This, compared with corresponding places in the northern hemisphere, is four 

 or five degrees higher, except in such favourably situated localities as Sitka, on 



* Meteorological conditions of various towns in Argentina 



Temperature- 



