(b) Rainfall

A winter maximum is quite pronounced about and north of the Gulf (Fig. 3), where annual precipitation varies between 76 and 127 cm. Exceptions are provided by Coromandel Peninsula and the Cape Rodney district, where there is usually a fall of more than 127 cm. (50 inches) per annum.

^* Annual rainfall averages have been calculated for several stations in the Gulf:—

(A rain day is taken as one on which there is a fall of at least 0.005 inches.) The figures are not strictly comparable since they are averaged from differing numbers of years, but they serve to indicate that on Waiheke Island, at least, both amount and distribution of rainfall is slightly less than at Auckland. At Little Barrier Island there is a slightly greater total rainfall per annum, but more rain falls on fewer rain days (cf. Hamilton, 1937, p. 31). Although statistical proof is lacking, there does seem to be a difference in the total amount of precipitation