Page:The Tourist's California by Wood, Ruth Kedzie.djvu/49

 GENERAL INFORMATION 31 Behind the Cujamacas in Imperial County, and on the Mojave Desert the winters are dry, mild and windy. It is not unusual for the summer thermometer to attain 120, and it grants but slight surcease even after the sun goes down. In the central valleys which furrow the State one can depend upon winters that are practically frostless, and upon summers that are very hot, but not prostrating owing to their dryness. The towns within thirty miles of the coast have milder winters and cooler summers than those further inland. This is variously ascribed to the action of winds, local fogs and the Japanese current. Many scientists deny to the Kuro Siwa the virtues once attributed to it, and maintain that it exerts but a slight influence upon the cli- mate of California's coast. Los Angeles has cooler summers than New York and winters warmer than Nice. The mercury touches the freezing point on an average of once in three years only. Alligators on a suburban ranch refuse to hibernate as is their custom in their native habitat. They enjoy the sun too much. At Avalon, 25 miles from the mainland on Cata- lina Island, it is Indian summer from January to January. Warm in winter, it is only a few degrees warmer on the other side of the year. Bananas grow on the sheltered east shore of the