XX,] 



THE MOVEMENTS OF THE EARTH. 



357 



store which serves to equalize the temperature. On land 

 again, the climate depends, to a very great extent, on the 

 altitude. In fact, on ascending a high mountain, from a 

 plain in a hot country, the traveller meets with changes in 

 the character of the animal and vegetable life, which are 

 similar to those changes which may be observed in passing 

 from low to high latitudes. Even within the. tropical 



Fig. ii6. — Zones of the earth's surface. 



zone, the highest points of the existing high lands are 

 covered with perpetual snow. Climate is also modified 

 by winds, which transport heat and moisture from one place 

 to another ; and by marine currents, such as the Gulf Stream, 

 the influence of which has already been described (p. 173). 

 Climate determines, to a very large extent, the character 



