Personal Narrative Of Travels To The Equinoctial Regions Of America During The Years 1799-1804 - Volume 1 - By Alexander Von Humboldt And Aime Bonpland.
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Moreover,
These Variations Act On The Human Frame At Caracas More Violently
Than Might Be Supposed From The Mere Indications Of The
Thermometer.
In this narrow valley the atmosphere is in some sort
balanced between two winds, one blowing from the west, or the
seaside, the other from the east, or the inland country.
The first
is known by the name of the wind of Catia, because it blows from
Catia westward of Cabo Blanco through the ravine of Tipe. It is,
however, only a westerly wind in appearance, and it is oftener the
breeze of the east and north-east, which, rushing with extreme
impetuosity, engulfs itself in the Quebrada de Tipe. Rebounding
from the high mountains of Aguas Negras, this wind finds its way
back to Caracas, in the direction of the hospital of the Capuchins
and the Rio Caraguata. It is loaded with vapours, which it deposits
as its temperature decreases, and consequently the summit of the
Silla is enveloped in clouds, when the catia blows in the valley.
This wind is dreaded by the inhabitants of Caracas; it causes
headache in persons whose nervous system is irritable. In order to
shun its effects, people sometimes shut themselves up in their
houses, as they do in Italy when the sirocco is blowing. I thought
I perceived, during my stay at Caracas, that the wind of Catia was
purer (a little richer in oxygen) than the wind of Petare. I even
imagined that its purity might explain its exciting property.
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