Climate
The Andean and Fuegan mountains intercept moisture-laden westerly winds, creating temperate rain forest conditions, while the cold oceanic Humboldt Current, which runs up the west coast of South America, and the cold Antarctic Circumpolar Current, which runs from west to east through the Southern Ocean, keep the Magellanic ecoregion cool and wet, and the strong oceanic influence moderates seasonal temperature extremes. Averages temperatures a year vary from 6 °C (42 °F) in the north to 3 °C (37 °F) in the south and rainfalls a year from 4000 mm (160 in) in the west to 450 mm (18 in) in the east. Snowfalls can occur even in summer. Fog is very frequent. Very strong winds whip the region and these compel trees to grow in twisted and bent shapes fighting against the wind; and people call them "flag trees".
Read more about this topic: Magellanic Subpolar Forests
Famous quotes containing the word climate:
“Is not their climate foggy, raw, and dull,
On whom, as in despite, the sun looks pale,
Killing their fruit with frowns?”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“If often he was wrong and at times absurd,
To us he is no more a person
Now but a whole climate of opinion.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)
“There is much to be said against the climate on the coast of British Columbia and Alaska; yet, I believe that the scenery of one good day will compensate the tourists who will go there in increasing numbers.”
—Franklin D. Roosevelt (1882–1945)