Abstract

Metal abundances accurate to 0.25 dex have been obtained for a large (314) and unbiased sample of G and K giants in Baade's Window from Washington CCD photometry. Good agreement is obtained with the results of Rich [AJ, 95, 828 (1988)] based on intermediate resolution spectra of 88 K giants, including the derived metallicities for 15 stars in common. The abundance distribution ranges from approximately 0.1 to 10 times solar, with a mean [Fe/H] = +0.17 +/- 0.15, a mean linear abundance of 2.3 +/- 0.5 times solar and a large intrinsic dispersion of approximately 0.35 dex. A quarter of the sample have [Fe/H]> +0.5, two-thirds exceed the Sun's metallicity, and only 8 % are more metal poor than [Fe/H]= -0.5. The metallicity distribution function is very well fit by the simple closed box model of Galactic chemical evolution with complete gas consumption.