We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
We use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings.
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 September 2009
Just as the Irish are said to have 40 words for the color green, desert dwellers have many ways of expressing nuances of thirst. The following are Arabic expressions.
al-'atash thirst
al-Zama' thirst
al-Sada thirst
al-Ghulla burning thirst
al-Luhba burning thirst
al-Huyam vehement thirst (or passionate love!)
al Uwam burning thirst, giddiness
al-Juwad excessive thirst (this is the thirst which kills)
E. S. Hills, arid-land researcher Arid Lands (1966)The psychological effects of desert heat and wind are described.
In the case of the Santa Ana winds, high pressure over Utah and Nevada causes air to spill off the Mojave Desert, rushing over the Pacific coastal range and onto the coastal lowlands. The coastal air is robbed of humidity by this thirsty invader and fills with static electricity. As it envelopes desert and littoral alike, the Santa Ana creates a weird atmosphere of impending doom. During its season, as Raymond Chandler wrote in his famous short story Red Wind, “Meek little wives feel the edge of the carving knife and study their husbands' necks. Anything can happen.”
Gregory McNamee, American author The Sierra Club Desert Reader (1995)Biometeorology is the study of the response of living organisms to weather and climate. In particular, this chapter will address the effects of the desert environment on humans. First will be described the various mechanisms by which heat can be gained and lost by the body. This will be followed by a discussion of the ways in which the body attempts to maintain the thermal balance that is required to sustain life.
To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.
Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.
Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.
To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.
