CLIMATE. 



127 



agreeable contrast to the sombre aspect of the tow- 

 ering 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 sensa- 

 tions. This inconvenience is aggravated here by 

 the position 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 an- 

 other by a dry breeze from the interior, which dissi- 

 pates the vapours and unveils the mountain-summits. 

 This inconstancy of climate, however, is not pecu- 

 liar to Caraccas, but is common to the whole equi- 

 noctial regions near the tropics. Uninterrupted 

 serenity during a great part of the year prevails only 

 in the low districts adjoining the sea, or on the ele- 

 vated table-lands of the interior. The intermediate 

 zone is misty and variable. 



In this province the sky is generally less blue than 

 at Cumana. The intensity of colour measured by 

 Saussure's cyanometer was commonly 18°, and 

 never above 20°, from November to January, while 

 on the coasts it was from 22° to 25°. The mean 

 temperature is estimated by Humboldt at 68° or 72°. 

 The heat very seldom rises to 84°, and in winter 

 " it has been observed to fall as low as 52°. The 



