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456
LIFE.
CHAPTER XVIII.
BLENDING OF DIFFERENT CLIMATES.—THE INFLUENCE OF CIVILIZATION ON
THE FEATURES OF A COUNTRY.
Such, then, in an entirely general point of view, are the influences of various climates on the populations which inhabit them; such, too, are the
ethnological contrasts produced by difference in zones, continental relief,
aspect, and the nature of the soil. Nevertheless, these contrasts rarely
present themselves in a distinct and decided manner; it is impossible to
trace out the boundaries between nations with a ruler and compass. The
influence of winds and currents, the presence of inland seas, the gulfs and
promontories of continents, the curves of the mountain chains, and the
countless physical features ofthe earth, have a constant tendency to alter
and intermingle the climates. In many cases even contrary forces tend
to balance one another, and, consequently, the contrasts are weakened and
die out. Thus the ground is low in almost all the cold northern countries, and during the warm season it receives the whole salutary action
ofthe sun; the inhabitants of northern regions, therefore, resemble the
mountaineers on account of the severity of the climate which surrounds
them, and the people of th§ plains on account of their low country. Farther south, the mountaineer of the temperate or even the torrid zone may
call himself a northerner because he lives in the midst of snow, or a southerner because the rays of the sun descend to him from the zenith, and districts of exuberant richness lie spread before him at his feet. In the same
way, if the peak on which he dwells rises from the midst of the sea, he
may also be called a child of the ocean, and his character will certainly
exhibit some striking contrasts to that of the inhabitant of a mountain
situated far in the interior of a continent. The endless varieties in water,
air, and situation, and the more or less rapid vibration of luminous and
magnetic waves, are constantly modifying the general aspect of nature.
Every province, city, and hamlet has its own peculiar climate, and this
climate again has nothing permanent about it, and varies every moment.
All climatic facts demonstrated by observation blend into one another,
and consequently it is impossible to judge of their action on nations except from an entirely general point of view.
And this is not all; nations do not rest forever on the soil where they
were born, but between them and their neighbors there is always taking
place a more or less active interchange of isolated individuals and of families; sometimes, indeed, nations are forcibly united by conquerors, who
transplant whole peoples, or else the vanquished go and seek a new country beyond the seas or mountains in a totally different climate. In this
case the climatic forces come into action, and modify the primitive*type
| Title | The ocean, atmosphere, and life |
| Creator | Reclus, Elisée |
| Publisher | Harper |
| Place of Publication | New York |
| Date | 1873 |
| Language | eng |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Title | 00000501 |
| Type | Books/Pamphlets |
| Transcript | 456 LIFE. CHAPTER XVIII. BLENDING OF DIFFERENT CLIMATES.—THE INFLUENCE OF CIVILIZATION ON THE FEATURES OF A COUNTRY. Such, then, in an entirely general point of view, are the influences of various climates on the populations which inhabit them; such, too, are the ethnological contrasts produced by difference in zones, continental relief, aspect, and the nature of the soil. Nevertheless, these contrasts rarely present themselves in a distinct and decided manner; it is impossible to trace out the boundaries between nations with a ruler and compass. The influence of winds and currents, the presence of inland seas, the gulfs and promontories of continents, the curves of the mountain chains, and the countless physical features ofthe earth, have a constant tendency to alter and intermingle the climates. In many cases even contrary forces tend to balance one another, and, consequently, the contrasts are weakened and die out. Thus the ground is low in almost all the cold northern countries, and during the warm season it receives the whole salutary action ofthe sun; the inhabitants of northern regions, therefore, resemble the mountaineers on account of the severity of the climate which surrounds them, and the people of th§ plains on account of their low country. Farther south, the mountaineer of the temperate or even the torrid zone may call himself a northerner because he lives in the midst of snow, or a southerner because the rays of the sun descend to him from the zenith, and districts of exuberant richness lie spread before him at his feet. In the same way, if the peak on which he dwells rises from the midst of the sea, he may also be called a child of the ocean, and his character will certainly exhibit some striking contrasts to that of the inhabitant of a mountain situated far in the interior of a continent. The endless varieties in water, air, and situation, and the more or less rapid vibration of luminous and magnetic waves, are constantly modifying the general aspect of nature. Every province, city, and hamlet has its own peculiar climate, and this climate again has nothing permanent about it, and varies every moment. All climatic facts demonstrated by observation blend into one another, and consequently it is impossible to judge of their action on nations except from an entirely general point of view. And this is not all; nations do not rest forever on the soil where they were born, but between them and their neighbors there is always taking place a more or less active interchange of isolated individuals and of families; sometimes, indeed, nations are forcibly united by conquerors, who transplant whole peoples, or else the vanquished go and seek a new country beyond the seas or mountains in a totally different climate. In this case the climatic forces come into action, and modify the primitive*type |
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