CLIMATE, RAINY SEASONS, HEALTH,
ETC.
THE climate of Arizona is varied,
embracing every variety, from that of the northern States, to that of
the extreme of the sunny south. On the highest mountain peaks, from ten
thousand to thirteen thousand feet in height, snow falls to a great
depth, and remains on the ground in places from six to ten months of
the year. On the mountains, at an altitude of eight thousand feet, the
snow fall is two to four feet, and remains from one to three months. At
an altitude of six thousand feet, - that of Prescott, -there is a snow
fall of a few inches to one foot or more, and the snow remains for a
few days only, except in extreme cases, when it has remained for a few
weeks only. At this altitude the seasons of spring, summer, and fall,
are extremely pleasant, salubrious, and enjoyable, equal to any in the
world. The nights are pleasantly cool and agreeable, and two pairs of
blankets at night will ever be found to be a necessary covering. At an
elevation of four thousand feet, which is that of Mineral Park, Cerbat,
San Carlos, Pueblo Viejo Valley, Camp Grant, and many other places,
there is but little snow fall, the winters are chilly, but not cold,
and the summers pleasant and delightful, the nights moderately cool,
sufficiently so to give to all a good and refreshing night's rest. At
an altitude of fifteen hundred to two thousand feet, which is that of
the great plains and valleys of the southern part of the Territory,
Tucson, Florence, Phoenix, etc., snow is almost wholly unknown, the
winters are extremely mild and pleasant, and the summers warm and dry,
with continued warm weather for many months. At this altitude the
climate in summer, though quite warm, is not oppressive, or
debilitating, as in many other parts of our country with the same range
of thermometer, 85~ to 105~. Owing to the pure and rarefied condition
of the atmosphere, and the cool nights, the human system keeps in a
healthy tone. At lower altitudes, especially at Yuma, which has an
elevation of but one hundred and sixty feet above tide water, the
thermometer often runs up to 110~, and in extreme cases to over 120~,
yet at Yuma, cases of sunstroke are unknown, and its citizens enjoy
most excellent health. From the foregoing, it will be noticed that the
altitude of the country gives the different degrees and variety of
temperature. There is probably no country in the world with a purer,
healthier climate than Arizona, and the sick, the debilitated,
the worn out and enfeebled constitutions of other climes and countries,
can here find a climate of exceeding purity, ranging through all the
degrees from hot to cold, according to altitude, from which each and
every one can select that locality in summer, or winter, that is
required by their constitution or ailments. For consumptives and those
having kindred diseases, the winter climate of Yuma, and thence east to
Maricopa Wells, Phoenix, Florence, and Tucson, and especially at Yuma,
there is no more favorable climate in the known world, and when the
country is opened up, and traversed by railroads, Yuma and the other
points named will of necessity become the centres of sanitariums of
world-wide celebrity. In summer, the mountainous regions are equally
favorable for like diseases, and also for all asthmatic and respiratory
diseases. The worst cases of asthma are invariably cured by a residence
in the mountains of Arizona of a few months. There are two rainy
seasons each year in the Territory, one of which is usually the months
of February and March, and the other the months of July and August, but
these rainy seasons sometimes come earlier and sometimes later.
Occasionally they will continue for three and four months, and some
years there is a rain-fall during every month, more especially in the
mountains. The amount of rain-fall differs much in different localities
of the Territory being far greater in the mountains than in the great
plains and valleys. In the mountains it ranges from twelve to thirty or
more inches, and in the plains and valleys from one to twelve inches.
At Yuma the rain-fall has in some years been less than one inch, but
this is exceptional, the usual quantity being from three to five
inches. The sky here during the whole year is almost invariably a
clear, blue expanse of ether. The extreme purity of the atmosphere, and
the almost continued and perpetual sunshine which pervades the
Territory, has attracted the attention of every observing person who
has been there either for a few months, or for years. The author made a
special note of the fact, that during his residence there of over two
years, there was never, not in all that time, in summer or winter, one
single day without bright, beautiful sunshine. There is perhaps no
other country which presents this peculiarity in so marked a manner,
where there is any rain-fall at all. The rain clouds do not overspread
the whole heavens as in the Atlantic States, but pass over in areas of
narrow width, following up the mountain spurs and chains, and often,
when the rain-fall upon a mountain top, or mountain plateau, is
sufficient to transform the tiny rivulet, or mountain brooklet, into a
raging torrent of waters, there will be in the valley below, only a few
miles distant, continued sunshine, a balmy and fragrant atmosphere, and
continued employment for man and beast. It is a grand and glorious
sight to witness a thunder-storm in the mountains of Arizona, to listen
to the rolling, rumbling, almost deafening reverberations of the
thunder, as the thunder-cloud passes over some lofty mountain plateau,
or hangs along the crest of some jagged mountain cliff, and witness the
vivid play of the forked lightning, as it flashes from cloud to cloud,
or darts meteor like from crag to crag; while during this time, the
observer is basking in the sunshine in some beautiful valley just
outside the mountain range, where all nature is pleasant, quiet, and
serene.
Arizona as it is: or, The coming
country. Comp. from notes of travel during the years 1874, 1875, and
1876. By Hiram C. Hodge, 1877
