A further word to the reader seems necessary before he examines the following curves and tables. It would be somewhat audacious to assume that these short-term records have far-reaching importance. Much of their value lies in their organization with respect to the data already published on the climate of Peru. But since this would require a delay of several years in their publication it seems better to present them now in their simplest form. After all, the professional climatologist, to whom they are chiefly of interest, scarcely needs to have such organization supplied to him. Then, too, we hope that there will become available in the next ten or fifteen years a vastly larger body of climatological facts from this region. When these have been collected we may look forward to a volume or a series of volumes on the “Climate of Peru,” with full statistical tables and a complete discussion of them. That would seem to be the best time for the reproduction of the detailed statistics now on hand. It is only necessary that there shall be sufficient analysis of the data from time to time to give a general idea of their character and to indicate in what way the scope of the observations might profitably be extended. I have, therefore, taken from the available facts only such as seem to me of the most importance because of their unusual character or their special relations to the boundaries of plant provinces or of the so-called “natural regions” of geography.

Machu Picchu [27]

The following observations are of special interest in that they illustrate the weather during the southern winter and spring at the famous ruins of Machu Picchu in the Canyon of Torontoy. The elevation is 8,500 feet. The period they cover is too short to give more than a hint of the climate or of the weather for the year. It extends from August 20, 1912, to November 6, 1912 (79 days).

ANALYTICAL TABLE OF WIND DIRECTIONS, MACHU PICCHU, 1912
Direction of windNumber of Observations
Aug. 20 — Sept. 30 Oct. 1 — Nov. 6
7 a. m.1 p. m. 7 p. m. 7 a. m. 1 p. m. 7 p. m.
N. 5 2 5 2 — —
N.W. 9 10 14 4 6 11
W. — 1 2 2 2 4
S. W. — — 1 1 1 6
S. — — 1 — — 2
S. E. 4 2 1 —— 3
E. 6 3 3 12 4 4
N. E. 8 7 6 4 1 3
CALM — — 2 5 3 3

Direction of windPercentages of Total Observation[28]
Aug. 20 — Sept. 30 Oct. 1 — Nov. 6
7 a. m.1 p. m. 7 p. m. 7 a. m. 1 p. m. 7 p. m.
N. 15.6 8.0 14.2 6.7 —— ——
N. W. 28.1 40.0 40.0 13.3 35.3 30.7
W. —— 4.0 5.7 6.7 11.8 11.1
S. W. —— —— 2.8 3.3 5.9 16.7
S. —— —— 2.8 —— —— 5.5
S. E. 12.5 8.0 2.8 —— —— 8.3
E. 18.8 12.0 8.6 40.0 23.5 11.1
N. E. 25.0 28.017.1 13.3 5.9 8.3
CALM —— —— 5.7 16.7 17.6 8.3