dry summer period (when compared to Santiago or other central valley cities). Its mean annual temperature is 13 �C (55 �F), with highest median during the warmest month of 23.5 �C (74 �F) and lowest median during the coldest month of 3.5 �C (38 �F) (Ciren-Corfo, 1992). Annual mean rain during 1961-1990 (Direcci�n Meteorol�gica de Chile, 1991) was 1,157 millimetres (45.6 in) (Capelli de Steffens et al., 1997)
