CHAPTER XIV. CLIMATE OF ALASKA. Willis L. Moore, chief of the United States Weather Bureau, has prepared a valuable and interesting report on the climate of Alaska. "The climates of the coast and the interior," he says, "are unlike in many respects, and the differences are intensified in this, as perhaps in few other countries, by exceptional physical conditions. The natural contrast between land and sea is here tremendously increased by the current of warm water that impinges on the coast of British Columbia, one branch flowing northward toward Sitka, and thence westward to the Kadiak and Shumagin Islands. "The fringe of islands that separates the mainland from the Pacific Ocean from Dixon Sound northward and also a strip of the mainland for possibly twenty miles back from the sea, following the sweep of the coast, as it curves to the northwestward to the western extremity of Alaska, form a distinct climate division, which may be termed temperate Alaska. The temperature rarely falls to zero; winter does not set in until December 1, and by the last of May the snow has disappeared except on the mountains. The mcan winter temperature of Sitka is 32.5, but little less than that of Washington, D. C. While Sitka is fully exposed to the sea influence, places further inland, but not over the coast range of mountains, as Killisnoo and Juneau, have also mild temperatures throughout the winter months. The temperature changes from month to month in temperate Alaska are small, not exceeding twenty-five degrees from midwinter to midsummer. The average temperature of July, the warmest month of summer, rarely reaches 55 degrees, and the highest temperature of a single day seldom reaches 75 degrees. "The rainfall of Temperate Alaska is notorious the world over, not only as regards the quantity that falls, but also as to the manner of its falling, viz., in long and incessant rains and drizzles. Cloud and fog naturally abound, there being on an average but sixty-six clear days in the year. "Alaska is a land of striking contrasts, both in climate as well as topography. When the sun shines the atmosphere is remarkably clear, the scenic effects are magnificent; all nature seems to be in holiday attire. But the scene may change very quickly; the sky becomes overcast; the winds increase in force; rain begins to fall; the evergreens sigh ominously, and utter desolation and loneliness prevail. "North of the Aleutian Islands the coast climate becomes more rigorous in winter, but in summer the difference is much less marked. Thus, at St. Michael, a short distance north of the mouth of the Yukon, the mean summer temperature is 50 degrees, but four degrees cooler than Sitka. The mean summer temperature of Point Barrow, the most northerly point in the United States, is 36.8 degrees, but four-tenths of a degree less than the temperature of the air flowing across the summit of Pike's Peak, Col. "The rainfall of the coast region north of the Yukon delta is small, diminishing to less than ten inches within the arctic circle. "The climate of the interior, including in that designation practically all of the country except a narrow fringe of coastal margin and the territory before referred to as temperate Alaska, is one of extreme rigor in winter, with a brief, but relatively hot, summer, especially when the sky is free from clouds. "In the Klondike region in midwinter the sun. rises from 9.30 to 10 A. M., and sets from 2 to 3 P. M., the total length of daylight being about four hours. Remembering that the sun rises but a few degrees above the horizon, and that it is wholly obscured on a great many days, the character of the winter months may easily be imagined. "We are indebted to the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey for a series of six months' observations on the Yukon, not far from the site of the present gold discoveries. The observations were made with standard instruments, and are wholly reliable. The mean temperature of the months October, 1889, to April, 1890, both inclusive, are as follows: October, 33 degrees; November, 8 degrees; December, 11 degrees below zero; January, 17 degrees below zero;, February, 15 degrees below zero; March 6 degrees above zero; April 20 degrees above. The daily mean temperature fell and remained below the freezing point (32), from November 4, 1889, to April 21, 1890, thus giving 168 days as the length of the closed season of 1889-90, assuming the outdoor operations are controlled by temperature only. The lowest temperature registered during the winter were: 32 degrees below zero in November, 47 below in December, 59 below in January, 55 below in February, 45 below in March, 26 below in April. "The greatest continuous cold occurred in February, 1890, when the daily mean for five consecutive days was 47 degrees below zero. The weather moderated slightly about the 1st of March, but the temperature still remained below the freezing point. Generally cloudy weather prevailed, there being but three consecutive days in any month with clear weather during the whole winter. Snow fell on about one-third of the days in winter, and a less number in the early spring and late fall months. "Greater cold than that here noted has been experienced in the United States for a very short time, but never has it continued so very cold for so long a time. In the interior of Alaska the winter sets in as early as September, when snow storms may be expected in the mountains and passes. Headway during one of these storms is impossible, and the traveler who is |