Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-01-30
THE WORLDS RAINFALL.

In an article on rainfall in the american
Journal Of Science for January, Professor
Elias Loomis, whose writings on meteoro.
logy rank him as one of the highest author.
tiles in this comparatively new field, gives
an exceedingly valuable table of the mean
annual rainfall at 7l3 stations scattered
over the globe The table includes tie
name of the station, its elevation above sea
level in feet, its latitude and longitude, the
number of years over which the observa-
tons have extended, the rainfall In inches,
and the authority for the facts stated. This
table is divided into eight groups classified
according to the amount of the rainfall.
Toe wettest portion of the globe seems TO
be Cherapupji in Assam, where the mean
annual fall for over sixteen years reaches
the enormous depth of 1929 inches, or up.
ward of sixty feet, rather more than half
of this quantity falling in the months of
June and July. At several points in Chile
and Peru, as also in Northern Africa, no
rainfall is recorded.
The following are given as the principal
causes of excessive rainfall l. The meet.
ing of the northeast and southeast trade
winds resulting In great raiu-bels sur.
rounding the globe. 2 The irregular baro-
metric depressions is not as distinctly
marked by an excess of rainfall as might
be expected; nevertheless storm tracks
exhibit tendency to incline toward dis.
tricts where the rainfall is unusually great,
e. G., Newfoundland, Iceland, coast of
Norway, North Italy, etc. 3. Mountain
ranges causing increased rainfall on the
side from which the prevalent wind pro-
ceeds. A. Proximity to the ocean. especi-
ally when the prevalent wind comes from
the ocean, e. e., Western Europe eastern
coast of South America, Africa and
Australia. 3. Capes and headlands pro-
jecting considerably into the ocean ger.
orally receive greater rainfall than neigh
boring districts, e. g., Cape Hatteras,
Newfoundland, southwest coast of Ireland
and England, Cape of Good Hope, etc.
The causes of deficient rainfall are thus
summed up: l. A nearly uniform direc-
ton of the winds throughout the year. such
as prevails within portion of the system
of the trade winds, especially in mid.
ocean, and to some extent over the contl-
nents e. g., Ascension Island, the-Sahara,
Southern California, South Africa and
Australia. 2. The prevalent wind, hav.
ing passed ever range of elevated mount
aims, ueScenuS UPON tiie iceWdIu eiuo Q. S.3
desert of Cobb, Tartary, Chile, North
America east of tie Rocky Mountains,
central portion of Spain, etc. 8. Ranges of
mountains so situated as to obstruct the
free movement of the surface winds toward
central region; e. g.. desert of Cobb,
Tartary, Southern California, Salamanca in
Spain, ETC. 4. Remoteness from the ocean
measured in the direction from which the
prevalent wind proceeds. There is
marked diminution in the mean annual
rainfall as we advance eastward from
Western Europe. A similar effect is no.
ticeable in many other parts of the world.
but it is generally complicated by the
combination of other causes. 5. High lat
itude. Beyond the parallel of 60 north
latitude, at little distance from the
ocean, the mean annual rainfall seldom
much exceeds ten inches and there are
apparently regions of great extent in Asia
and North America where the annual ram
fall is less than ten inches.