CLIMATE OF NEW GUINEA. 301 



winding canal, which might easily be blocked by a snag or a sandbank. Several 

 islets, especially in Torres Strait, are disposed in such a way as to form natural 

 harbours, a fortunate provision for shipj^ing in the vicinit}' of a rock-bound coast 

 with but few inlets, and for hundreds of miles destitute of a single sheltering 

 creek. 



According to Wallace the Aru Archipelago must also be considered, like 

 Frederik Hendrik, as a part of New Guinea, separated from the mainland only by 

 shallow waters. The river-like channels by which it is intersected and disposed 

 in regular blocks like the quarters of a city seem to indicate that this archipelago 

 was formerly a marshy plain, whose channels represent the branches of the rivers 

 by which it was traversed before its separation from the mainland by a slight sub- 

 sidence of about 300 feet. " When the intervening land sank down we must 

 suppose the land that now constitutes Aru to have remained nearly stationary, 

 a not very improbable supposition, when we consider the great extent of the 

 shallow sea, and the very small amount of depression the land need have undergone 

 to produce it." * 



Climate — Flora — Fauna. 



Thanks to its geographical position, under the same mean latitude as Sumatra, 

 Papuasia is essentially a hot and moist region, without great oscillations of tempera- 

 ture, without excessively prolonged rains or droughts. This region has neither 

 the cold nor the sultry heats of Australia, and observers have recorded no tempera- 

 tures higher than 89° Fahr. or lower than 68° Fahr.f 



As in the eastern archipelago, the alternation of the seasons is regulated by 

 the trade winds, which, for a portion of the year, set regularly from south-east 

 to north-west, and at other times veer round to different quarters according to the 

 various centres of attraction. The lofty ranges by which the island is divided into 

 two precipitous areas of drainage also cause a sharp contrast between the succession 

 of the seasons on either side. During the winter of the northern hemisphere, 

 from November to April, when the vapours of the Pacific are brought by the 

 north-east trade wind, the slopes facing northwards receive an abundant rainfall, 

 while droughts, varied by a few occasional showers, prevail on the opposite side 

 turned towards Australia. During the other half of the year the south-east trades, 

 which are always accompanied b}^ rains, blow steadily on the south-east seaboard, 

 that is, on all that part of the island which is not sheltered by the Australian 

 continent. West of Torres Strait this continent again modifies the direction of 

 the normal currents which come from the south-west and west, and which also 

 bring a considerable quantity of moisture from the Indian Ocean. During this 



* A. R. Wallace, Tlte Malay Arc/iijjelat/o, chap, xxxiii. 



t Observations made by Miklukho Maklay at Hermitage Point (5° 23' S. lat ; 145° 46' E. long ) :- 



88° F. 



70° F. 



Highest Temperature 



Lowest 



Mean 



liainy Days 



Rainfall 



80° F. 

 TOO 

 94 inches. 



