CONTRASTS IN THE ATLANTIC — N. AND S. 21)3 



land, and other islands of the southern ocean, 

 have therefore a very considerably lower tempera- 

 ture than have the coasts and islands of Europe 

 under similar latitudes. Compare for instance the 

 temperature of the Falkland Isles and of Port 

 Famine, in the Straits of Magellan, with that 

 of Dublin, whose latitude is nearly the same. 





Latitude. 



Degrees of Mean Temperature. 



Of Winter. 



Of Summer. 



Of the Year. 



Deg. | Min. 



Cent, 



Fahr. 



Cent. 



Fahr. 



Cent. 



Fahr. 



Dublin. 

 Port Famine . 

 1' alkland Isles 

 Faroe Isles 



53 „ 21 N. 

 53 „ 38 S. 

 52 „ S. 

 62,. 2N. 



4-0 

 0-6 

 436 

 39 



392 

 33-08 

 3983 

 3902 



15-3 

 100 

 11-8 

 116 



66-29 



50 



5324 



52-88 



96 

 5-3 



8-24 

 71 



49-28 

 43-79 

 46-83 

 44-78 



The climate of the Falkland Isles differs, as 

 you will see, but little from that of the Faroe 

 Isles, although the latter lie about ten degrees of 

 latitude farther from the equator. We may 

 assume, with the greatest likelihood, that the 

 coasts of northern Europe owe these favourable 

 conditions of their climate only to the warm water, 

 which is spread over the Atlantic Ocean by the 

 currents, especially by the gulf-stream, and which 

 is forced by the form of the continents to 

 find its way into the Arctic Ocean. If the equa- 

 torial current found a passage, between North and 

 South America, into the Pacific Ocean, instead of 

 being obliged, as it now is, to pour the whole of 

 its water, heated in the Caribbean Sea and the 



