Switzerland

Of the countless waterfalls in Switzerland those of the Rhine (near Schaffhausen), 'Co ft. high, inclusive of rapids, and 34o ft. wide, are the grandest, but the most beautiful are of less volume and greater height, such as those of the Lauterbrunnen valley and particularly the Staubbach, a mere veil of water hanging in front of a precipice 1,000 ft. high.

Switzerland contains many more glaciers than the combined total for adjacent lands; the number is estimated at over i,000, but no exact computations are possible on account of numerous detached ice-masses which may or may not rank as glaciers. Practically all of them are now in retreat, though they will long continue to feed all the important rivers and streams of Switzer land. They probably occupy 700 sq.m., very unequally distrib uted; eleven of the cantons possess no glaciers. The greatest area is found in the Valais (more than half of the total area), fol lowed by the Grisons and Berne (about 6th each) ; then by Uri, Glarus and Ticino (the last about 13 sq.m.) ; the remaining can tons—Unterwalden, Vaud, St. Gall, Schwyz and Appenzell have, in aggregate, a glacier area little superior to that of Ticino alone. The longest glacier in the main Alpine chain is the Gorner (91 m.), but it is exceeded by the Great Aletsch (161 m.) and by the Fiescher and the Unteraar (I o m. each) which run down from the high eastern mountains of the Bernese Oberland.

Climate.

In an area such as Switzerland which extends through less than two degrees of latitude, climate will be influ enced more particularly by differences of altitude, aspect and gradient ; these show wide and surprisingly sudden variations, e.g., Monte Rosa (15,217 ft. high) is distant only 3o rn. in a "straight" line from Lago Maggiore, with waters in the same latitude, but only 646 ft. in altitude. Great heights are characterized by (i.) low barometer readings : Monte Rosa summit records about half sea-level pressure; hence the possibility of "mountain sickness"; (ii.) usually more brilliant sunshine and dry air, particularly in winter, producing "sun-burning" and "ice-dazzle," which in some subjects amounts to "snow-blindness"; (iii.) much lower tempera tures; among the Alps the average fall in temperature is about 1.2° F on the south side and about 0.9° F on the north side for

each 33o ft. of ascent. The height of the Alpine crest and its main direction also profoundly influence the winds. In addition to local winds of certain higher levels which show a daily change of direction—down-hill in the morning and up-hill in the evening —there are other characteristic winds which are much less lo calized in their effects, as the southerly fan, warm, dry and oppressive, which affects considerable areas in east Switzerland, particularly during spring and autumn; and the northerly bise, a cold wind experienced in Geneva. Switzerland's many climates are important, not only in Europe's playground generally, but also in the "nests of sanatoria." Hence, climate and weather sta tistics have been carefully compiled for many stations. The majority of Swiss tours and health resorts guide-books include a selection, but for a logical treatment of the climate details, refer ence should be made to such works as W. G. Kendrew, Climates of the Continents (London, 2nd ed. 1927).

January is the coldest month, the following averages being re corded: Basle (909 ft. alt.) 31.8° F; Altdorf (1,480 ft. alt.) 32.4° F; Davos (5,121 ft. alt.) 18.7° F; St. Gotthard (6,877 ft. alt.) 18.1° F; Santis (8,202 ft. alt.) 16.2° F, whilst an unusually low average is from Bevers (5,610 ft. alt.) with F. Pre cipitation (either rain or melted snow) shows wide variations, e.g., Basle has 32.5 in. total annual precipitation; Altdorf, 49.o in.; Davos, 35.7 in. and Santis, 95.7 in. At several stations much of this falls as snow. On Santis the precipitation is as snow from November to April inclusive, and only July and Au gust have more rain than snow. Snow accumulates to a depth of 20 to 25 ft. at Bevers and upwards of 45 ft. on Santis. July is the hottest month, the average July records in degrees F being: Basle 66.4, Altdorf 64.4, Davos 53.8, St. Gotthard 46.2, Santis Bevers 53.2, the range at the last station, 39.0°, tending to be extreme. Santis, though cold, is much more equable, 24.8°. The snow line, showing considerable local variations, is about 9,000 ft. high on the western Alps, and about 10,500 ft. in the drier eastern mountains.