t 
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Y 
CLIMATE. 147 
summits of the latter are seen from Caraccas, nearly 
under the same angle of elevation as the Peak of 
Teneriffe is observed from Orotava. The first half 
of the ascent is covered with grass ; then succeeds 
a zone of evergreen trees ; while above this the rocky 
masses rise in the form of domes destitute of vegeta- 
tion. The cultivated region below forms an agree- 
able contrast to the .sombre aspect of the towering 
ridges which overhang the town, as well as of the 
‘hills to the north. 
The climate of Caraccas is a perpetual spring, the 
temperature by day being between 68° and 79°, and. 
by night between 60° and 64°. It is, however, liable 
to great variations, and the inhabitants complain of 
having several seasons in twenty-four hours, as well 
as a too rapid transition from one to another. In 
January, for example, a night of which the mean 
heat does not exceed 60° is followed by a day in 
which the thermometer rises above 71° in the shade. 
Although in our mild climates oscillations of this 
kind produce no disagreeable effects, yet in the tor- 
rid zone Europeans themselves are so accustomed to 
uniformity in the temperature, that a difference of 
a few degrees is productive of unpleasant sensations. 
This inconvenience is aggravated here by the posi- 
tion of the town in a narrow valley, which is at one 
time swept by a wind from the coast, loaded with 
humidity, and depositing its moisture in the higher 
regions as the warmth decreases ; and at another by 
a dry breeze from the interior, which dissipates the 
vapours and unveils the mountain-summits. This 
imeconstancy of climate, however, is not peculiar to 
Caraccas, but is common to the whole equinoctial 
| regions near the tropics. Uninterrupted serenity 
