Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1913-10-10
No Country Toe Hot or Too Cold
for Man.
Ninety Degrees Below Zero In Siberia,
124 Above In Algeria, the Anthem.
teated Extremes-Most Eqult.
able Along Seacoast.


|
Plants and animals cannot exist iL
| temperatures far higher or lower thar
| those to which they have become &C
customed, while man moves from one
extreme to the other with. for the
most part, but little physical discom
fort. Explorers will visit the sands Of
Africa and the bleakness of the Arctic
circle and return to normal environ
ments even improved in physical con
dition.
Man inhabits about every part OF
the earth except few island regions
In the interior of continents and i'm
mediate vicinity of the poles. 1t is
from dread of climatic conditions that
his tent has found no more than q
temporary resting place in some OF
these far distant spots. 1t Is not
thought that the heat or cold of any
of the unexplored regions Of the globe
has greater range Of temperature
than regions now inhabited
Science reasons that the lowest tenn
peratures at the earth's surface are
not found directly at the poles. but
at some distance to the south Of the
north pole and to the north of the
south pole. says writer In the New
York Sun. Likewise the greatest de-
gree of heat is not, as might be sup.
posed, to be found at the equator, but
prevails at some distance to the north
nd r. no ~ hok or{v,o ~,
lire
The coolest place on the earth's sur
face of which there is authentic rec
ord is in Siberia. The lowest tempera-
ture ever recorded in the open air
was 80 degrees below zero (Fahren-
heit) at Werechjansk, central Siberia.
on January Is, 1885.
Tie highest temperature Of which
there is an authenticated record is
124 degrees above zero (Fahrenheit).
in Algeria, northern Africa, on July
II. 1879. These places of extreme
heat ard extreme cold give a range
Of temperature covering the whole in
habitable world of IA degrees, or two
degrees more than the zero to the
boiling point
In the United States the lowest tenn
perature ever recorded In winter Is
Ga degrees below zero in North Da-
kota, and the highest ever recorded
in summer is 115 degrees above zero
in Arizona. This gives a total range
Of 179 degrees within about 1000
miles.
There is an authenticated report
from Aumale. an outpost Of the Al
gerian bad lands, which gives a tenn
perature record in the opens air of
172 degrees above zero (Fahrenheit).
This If correct exceeds by 48 degrees
that of the highest on record. 1t is
also stated that the temperature at
this place rarely gets down to 40
degrees. On one or two occasions 1t
dropped to 12O degrees and the ma
tives shivered with the cold. Strange
as it may seem, the death rate OF
French soldiers stationed at this post
is lower than that at more northerly
places having equable temperatures.
People who inhabit these places of
extreme heat and cold are found to
be exceptionally healthy and live to
ripe old age.
While men in all parts Of the world
make their homes in these exception
ally hot or cold places and move from
one to the other without any apparent
physical discomfort, it is found that
animals or plants which would -four
ish in one could not survive in the
other.
In the United States the extreme
range of heat and cold Is not so great
but one may live in comparative COM
fort in any section; yet the same con-
ditions apply to animal and plant life
as prevail throughout the rest of the
world; animals and plants that sur
vive the winters Of the south could
not endure the winters of the north.
The greatest of the extremes of
heat and cold in this country are
found in the western states, from the
Dakotas and Montana southwark to
Texas and Arizona. The temperature
in the northwest during the winter
months frequently drops to 80 or 40
degrees below zero and occasionally
runs below 60 degrees, while the heat
of summer in the central west and
southwest touches 100 degrees or
higher. Regardless of such extremes
the climatic conditions throughout the
entire Rocky mountain range are de-
lightful for ten months Of the year.
The most equable temperature
throughout the year in the United
States is found along the seacoast.
Nearly two-thirds of the entire popula-
ton lives in seacoast cities. People
may complain Of few blustery and
unusually cold days in winter and of
a few sweltering hot and humid days
in summer, but with all things con-
sidered the Atlantic seacoast from
Florida to Maine is about as desirable
a place of residence as any part OF
the world.
What Central Heard.
"Hello!"