CHAPTER III

THE CLIMATIC IMPORTANCE OF WATER VAPOUR 84

The four elements of Aristotle. Humid-warm climates. The Congo and Amazon basins. The carboniferous age. The effect of cloudiness. Desert climate. Steppes. “Kevirs” and “Bayirs.” Sand dunes. The great Kevir. Climatic changes. Khanikoff’s description. Salt lakes. Deposits of salt through evaporation. Huntington about the arefaction of the earth. Humid period during the ice-age. Climatic changes during historic time. Africa, Asia, Greece, Italy, Sicily. West-Europe’s climate has grown more marine. Present conditions.