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CHAPTER IV.

PHYSICAL FEATURES.

1. West Virginia's Climate.-There is greater diversity of climate in West Virginia than in almost any other equal area in the United States. On the eastern side of the Alleghanies the climate is different from that on the western side; and that of the high plateau region is different from both. The State's topography is responsible for this. No less could be expected in a region so small, with a vertical range of four thousand feet, from the highest to the lowest; with a portion of the land set to catch the east wind, a portion to catch the wind from the west, and a portion set to catch every wind that blows. Two well-defined systems of winds, blowing from opposite directions, meet in West Virginia. Clouds from the Atlantic Ocean, and clouds from the Pacific, meet and mingle their rains upon the summits and slopes of the Alleghanies. Generally speaking, the land east of that range has the warmer and dryer climate. In the mountain region the summers are never very warm and the winters are always very cold. On the highest mountains the thermometer sometimes falls thirty degrees below zero; while, in summer, it may rise to ninetysix in some parts of the State.

2. The Fall of Snow. -The depth of snow varies with the locality and altitude. Near the tops of the high mountains snow six or seven feet deep is not unknown. In 1831, between the Alleghanies and the Ohio River, it accumulated to a depth of three feet. In 1856, in the valleys just west of the mountains its depth was three and one-half feet. In 1784, near the top of the Alleghany Mountains, there was a summer frost which

killed large trees. In 1859, on June 5, a similar frost visited most of the State. The summers of 1838 and 1854 were almost rainless. On the bank of North River, in Hampshire County, is a place where the ice remains among the rocks all summer. Near Cheat River, in Preston County, is another such place. The ice forms in the cavities of broken rocks in winter, and its preservation in summer is due to a thin covering of soil which prevents the circulation of air through the cavities where the ice is found. On the headwaters of Black Fork, in Tucker County, are dense beds of laurel and forests of spruce, sheltering depressions of the rocky soil where ice and frozen ground may be met with in midsummer.

3. The Annual Rainfall.-The average yearly rainfall for West Virginia, including melted snow is about four feet. That is, if the rain should remain where it falls, it would, in one year cover the whole State with water four feet deep. In some years the amount of rainfall is three or four times greater than in other years. The average is always greater west of the Alleghanies than east, and greatest near the summit. Our rains and snows come from two general directions-from the east, and from west of southwest. Local storms may come from any quarter. Eastern storms are usually confined to the regions east of the Alleghanies particularly in summer. Snow storms from the east more frequently cross the mountains. The clouds which accompany the eastern winds, come from the Atlantic Ocean. The high country which follows the summits of the Appalachian ranges from Canada almost to the Gulf of Mexico, is the dividing line between the two systems of rains and winds which visit West Virginia. Storms from the Atlantic move up the gentle slope from the coast to the mountains, precipitating their moisture as rain or snow along the way. They strike the abrupt eastern face of the Alleghanies, expending their force and giving out the remainder of their moisture. They seldom cross to the western side.

4. Holding Back the Clouds.-The Blue Ridge is not high enough to interfere seriously with the passage of clouds across its summit. But the Alleghanies are usually a barrier, particularly for eastern storms. As the clouds break against the sides of the lofty cliffs and peaks, there often are terrific rains below, while little, or perhaps none, falls on the summit. On such an occasion an observer on one of the Alleghany peaks may look down upon the storm, witness the display of lightning and hear the roar of the thunder beneath him. Winds which cross high mountains seldom deposit much rain or snow on the leeward side.

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5. The Western Rains. It having been shown that the eastern part of our State receives the chief portion of its rains from the Atlantic Ocean, it remains to be seen that the western rains come from a different place. All general and extensive rains are derived from moisture taken up by the sun's heat from some one of the earth's three principal oceans, the Atlantic, the Pacific, or the Indian. The moisture is carried by winds through the air and is precipitated upon the land or into the sea. Our western rains come from very far away. In the wide and warm region of the Pacific Ocean, between South America and Australia, they have their origin. The wind which brings them travels ten thousand miles before it reaches the West Virginia hills. It passes the equator, strikes the coast of Mexico, crosses that hot country, and pursuing a course a little north of east, reaches us. Elements disturb this wind, and occasionally and temporarily turn it aside, but it pursues its general course with such persistency that we seldom want for rain very long. The warm wind from the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea is the chief disturber that affects us; but sometimes cold winds from British America sweep down and break, for a few days, the current from the far southwest. Year by year, unfailing, but with some variation, the never-resting currents of air

See Maury's "Physical Geography of the Sea," and the wind and rain charts which accompany it.

bring us rains from the far-away Pacific. In one sense, there are few things so changing and fickle as the wind. It comes in puffs and goes in whirls; yet there are immense currents of air, blowing round the world with speed often much-greater than the fastest railroad train. They move from the equator to the poles, and from the poles to the equator, in channels as regular and as constant as those of the rivers of the land. A lofty range of mountains in one continent may cause a desert in another. It may turn aside the rain winds from a land on the other side of the world. The Andes Mountains, rising above the clouds in South America, are supposed to be the cause of the great desert in northern Africa. The Sierra Nevada range in California shuts out the rain clouds from Nevada and Utah.

6. The Clouds. It would be a mistake to suppose that clouds come from very far away. A cloud lasts only a few hours. When one melts away, another takes its place. The clouds are made of moisture, as is well known; yet there may be more moisture in the air on a clear day than on a day that is cloudy. The difference is that on a clear day the atmosphere's moisture is not condensed, and for that reason it is not visible. In proportion to size, a white cloud contains as much rain as a black cloud. The chief difference between them is that the black cloud is so thick that the light from above cannot shine through, while the white cloud is thinner and does not wholly obstruct the light. The highest clouds, in summer as well as in winter, are composed of snowflakes, or floating frost, and are sometimes as much as nine miles high. Five miles up, a thermometer would probably never rise above zero. Ten miles up, the temperature is believed to average not less than one hundred degrees below zero colder than the coldest night at the North Pole. We are thus always quite near very severe weather. Sudden cold spells are more often due to the dropping down of the cold air above us than to the coming in of cold air from far away.

7. The Use of Rain.-Everyone knows that rain is essential to the life of vegetation. It moistens the ground and dissolves mineral substances on which plants feed. But rain plays another important part in rendering a soil productive. It adds elements of fertility to the soil. Rain water is often

considered very pure. It is far from it. It is filled with impurities collected from the air through which it passes. Ammonia, which is essential to plant life, is always present in rain water. It is sometimes so abundant that it gives to the water a peculiar taste. The soil which collects and retains this ammonia becomes fertile. Besides this, the rain collects from the air floating particles of dust, often microscopic plants and animals, and adds them to the soil. Sufficient impurities of that kind sometimes fall in a single shower to make a preceptible film on pool of water; or, if it be in winter, the result is a black snow.

8. Soil: What is It?—The soil of a country is the covering of the solid rock which usually lies a few feet, or a few inches, below the surface. Soil is made of rock ground into pebbles, sand or dust, and mixed with decaying remains of plants or animals. Trees and plants that send their roots into the ground, derive very little nourishment from the disintegrated rocks; but they are fed by the decaying organic matter. A rich soil contains plenty of organic substance in progress of decay. A poor soil has little or none. A fertile field is rendered sterile by planting it with a succession of corps until the organic matter is exhausted. Continually taking something away and putting nothing back will rob a soil as surely as a corn crib will be made empty by continually taking corn out and putting none back. When a soil has become poor, it can be made fertile again by adding to it some element on which plant life feeds. Ground can be rendered fertile by turning under its own product, there to decay and mold. This is because a considerable part of the vegetable growth is derived from the air, and not from the soil. When the crop is plowed

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