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   In order to understand the geography and the nature of the Canaries, and therefore of La Gomera, it is essential to understand the region´s climate, as it has determined the existing vegetation and fauna as well as its distribution in the islands. The Canaries are subtropical oceanic islands off the West Coast of Africa and near the Tropic of Cancer. The climate is essentially Mediterranean, that is to say, a long dry period coinciding with the warmest period of the year and regular rainfall concentrated in autumn and winter. Nevertheless, the moderating effect of the ocean produces a lower range of summer temperatures and warmer winters than continental areas of the same latitude. The position of La Gomera situates it on the boundary between various other connecting climatic systems. For most of the year the island comes under the effects of the trade winds from the anti-cyclone of the Azores. The moisture taken up by the winds after passing over the ocean, on reaching the island´s mountain slopes often condenses, forming a layer of cloud of variable thickness which hangs motionless over the northern slopes of the island. The existence of an "inversion layer" above the north-easterly trade winds (warm, dry air above cold air, the opposite to normal conditions), formed by the north-westerly trade winds, impede the moist air from rising thus trapping the clouds around the north of the higher islands of the archipelago. Seen from above the clouds present a characteristic spectacular flat surface known as 'the sea of clouds', which is found at a height ranging between 600 and 1500 metres above sea level and varies from insignificant to more than 500 metres thick. La Gomera possesses a considerable variety of climatic conditions. The rainfall can vary from minimums of 200 mm a year on the arid south coast up to more than 900 mm. on the wettest crest areas; from average annual temperatures above 20oC degrees at sea level to below 14oC on the mountain crests; or from below 1,880 hours of sunshine a year in the cloud-affected areas of the northern slopes to more than 3,200 hours on the sunny coasts of the south. With this climatic diversity we can distinguish 3 climatic zones of not precise boundaries: the coastal, medium altitude and higher mountain areas.  |
| Natrón Servicios Ibertext, S.L. |  |