The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1905-02-24


snow would fall each year to a depth
of two and one-half feet But the rain
fall is not distributed uniformly by any
means. Some regions receive vastly
more than is needed, while others re-
ceiye so little that only desert vege-
tation can grow. The eastern half of
the country is well watered, while most
of the western half is insufticiently
watered.
On the coast OF the Gulf Of Mexico
FIVE. sometimes six feet fall in a year;
upon the northwest corner of our coun-
try, about Puget Sound, rain commonly
falls to a depth exceeding six feet, and
ten feet have been known to fall in a
single year. On the other hand, in the
deserts of Utah, Nevada. Arizona and
eastern California years have passed
without any rain, and the average of
many years is between five and ten
inches.
10 understand this difference i'll the
supply of rain to different parts of the
country, it is necessary to understand
why it rains-what conditions must be
present.
All air contains yapor Of water in
solution; sometimes there is more,
sometimes less. Air of a certain tenn
perature earn dissolve only a certain
amount Of moisture. When the limit
is reached, the air is said to be satur-
ated, just as water may be saturated
with salt in solution.
This limit is much higher with warm
air than with cold air, that is, warm
air can dissolve more water than cold
air can. Now if warm air w;lich is
saturated or partly saturated with
moisture be cooled, it cannot hold so
much moisture as before. A part of
it must be given out, and this produces
rain.
Two conditions must therefore be
present-moisture in the air, and means
of cooling the air below the point of
saturation. Neither of these con-
ditions will alone produce rain. The
air may be very moist, as it is upon the
coast Of southern California in the
summer, but since there is no way of
cooling it, it never rains there in this
season.
WHAT THE AIR-CURRENTS DO.
On the otheir hand, dry air may be
reduced greatly in temperature with
out producing rain, as occurs when
the air-currents blow over the Colorado
,,,n,s, tai,,r ~, flia - -,to, l,oan,.ro +lrcn
air-currents. containing little moisture,
are not cooled TO the point Of satura-
tion.
Air is commonly warmest at the
earth's surface. and becomes colder as
the elevation increases. 1t is also of
course, warm near the equator and be-
comes colder northward and south
ward. Ascending air-currents, there
fore, become colder, and in the north
ern hemisphere air-eurrents from the
south are cooled as they move north
ward. AS air-currents move upward
or northward, all the moisture beyond
that amount which they, in their cooled
condition, can hold in solution, is pre-
cipitated as rain or snow.
The water which our country re
ceives comes mainly from three
sources. the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf
of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean. and
of these by far the largest amount
comes from the Gulf. The contribu-
tons of the Great Lakes and other
bodies of water are small in compari-
son.
The area supplied by the Gulf
stretches across the entire breadth Of
the country from north to south and
from central Texas. eastern Kansas
and Nebraska. eastward to the Appa-
lachian Mountains.
The Atlantic Lcear supplies the strip
of country east of these mountains,
and the Pacific supplies moisture in
varying amounts over the whole
western country. its influence extend
ing as far east as the eastern bound
ary of the Dakotas, Kansas. Nebraska.
Oklahoma and central Texas. OF
course these limits are ill-defned.
They overlap one another and they
rulA1 AbOut win Tie StuSubos bul Ol
the whole they are abo 1t as stated
All storms are essentially winds,
which may or may not be accompanied
by rain or snow. The air moves in a
spiral course. IN a direction in the
northern hemisphere contrary to the
of the hands of a watch,
about the centre of the storm. The
little dust-whirl, which is often seen
in the road on a summer day. is a
miniature of the great whirls which
cover half continent
FROM WEST 10 EAST.
Such storms in this country common
Iy travel from west to east, across the
continent. and as they move, they
draw in air from all sides, carrying it
up into the higher atmosphere. The in
duence of a storm may be felt days be-
fore its centre arrives. The wind blows
first from the east, as it is drawn in to-
ward the centre. Near the Atlantic
coast this east wind. saturated with
gives out rain as it is carried |
upward.
AS the centre approaches the wind !
swings round to the southeast, then to
Ihe south, and southeast and south