The universal geography : earth and its inhabitants

98 SOUTU .VXD EAST AFRICA.Except at some points of the co.ist, such as Simon's Town and rietcr Maritzburg,the atniospliere is less humid than in AVcst Europe, being extremely dry, especiallyou the plateaux. Table llouutain frequently presents in summer a remarkablephenomenon, which is due to the greater dryness of the lower aerial strata. Thesouth-east winds, which strike against the huge sandstone block, rise above itssouth-eastern slopes, and the moisture becoming condensed in the cold atmosphereof the summit, spread out in a dense whitish cloud over the plateau.This " tablecloth,"as it is locally called, does not terminate abruptly at the brink of the precipice,but rolls over down towards the city spread out at its foot. Jlaguitifontcascades of sun-lit mist descend some two or three hundi-ed yards, flo.iting like foldsof delicate drapery ou the breeze, and gradually dissolving in the lower atmosphericregions. Here all the moisture brought by the trade winds becomes absorbed, andexcept oa the cloud-capped summit of the mountain, the whole country remainsbathed in sunshine under the bright azure sk)'. In winter, when the north-westFig-. 3J.—IsOTHEElIALS OF SoUTII AlT.IC.\.Scale 1 : 15,000,000.wind.s prevail, the phenomenon is reversed, and then the billow}- mists roll downfrom the plateau on the opposite side towards Simon's Town.The rainfall is very unequally distributed on the seaboard and in the interiorof South Africa ; but on the whole the actual quantity of moi.stm-e precipitated isrelatively slight, and certainly far less than that of AVest Europe. Copious rainsoccur only in a small number of privileged localities, such as the slopes of TableMountain, where the relief of the land compels the clouds to discharge their contentsmore freclj-. Hence in these southern latitudes the year is not divided, as inthe equatorial zone, into two well-marked seasons, one rainy, the other completelydry. On the contrary, showers occur everywhere, even on the inland plateaux,throughout the whole year, although usually distributed with a certain regiilaritjfrom month to month.On the Atlantic side moisture is brought by the returningwinds, and consequently abounds mostly in winter from May to August, and especiallyin the month of July. On the rest of the seaboard between False Bay and