pavements, and bunch grass streaming down-wind. Through- out the day the wind blows with great persistence and generally with high velocity. It ceases at sunset and generally does not start again until early forenoon of the following day. The nights are almost always cloudless with a brilliant sky. Most fatiguing are the eflects of strong winds and dust day after day. Riding obliquely into the wind or down it, one finds it tolerable; but it is extremely irritating when one rides directly into it. Our route lay toward the northwest up the long eastern slope of the Western Cordillera, through the pass, and down the western slope; and this took us right into the heavy west and northwest wind that is the most striking winter feature of the meteorology of the region. We had continuous heavy wind in the daytime and a temperature that ranged from nearly zero Fahrenheit in the morning when we broke camp to a little above freezing most of the day. Though we were warmly clothed, the wind effect was so great that we were obliged at every opportunity to dismount and warm our fingers and toes in the lee of the ravine walls or the large boulders that lie near the trail under the pass. The constant drumming of the wind is maddening and far exceeds the discomfort of cold. It is like living next a factory whistle or a proving ground, and worst of all is the realization that nothing can stop it!
Seasonal Temperatures and Rainfall
We crossed the Puna de Atacama in the depth of winter, and at the half-dozen camps established during the crossing the temperature was far below freezing every night. At our coldest camp the lowest temperature was —4° Fahrenheit. The last day and a half in the mountains we rode into a most exhausting wind, with temperatures between 1° F. at 6 A.M, and 42° F. at 2 P.M. Kühn[1] has averaged his summer observations taken from December 26 to January 12 inclusive at 16 different stations with the following results: elevations
- ↑ Franz Kithn: Beitriige zur Kenntnis der Argentinischen Cordillere zwischen 24° und 26° sid). Br.. Zeitsche. Gesell. fiir Erdkunde su Berlin, tgt1, pp. 149 172; reference on pp. 162-163.
