S.T.E.W. Review (In your journal) Using the picture on pages 28 & 29 of the Geography Alive textbook, pick 7 different landforms and explain how they were created. Be sure to explain how one or more elements of S.T.E.W. contributed to the landform’s creation.

Climate Regions

What is climate? Climate is defined as typical weather patterns over a long period of time. For example, how could you describe the climate of Texas?

Before we talk about why we have different climates we need to answer the following question: Why do we have seasons? The Earth’s Tilt, Rotation, and Revolution

The big thing to remember is that the Earth is always trying to find balance. And the need for balance is what drives weather patterns.

What determines climate or a climate region? 6 Factors That Affect Climate …. Or LAPDOG L = Latitude A = Altitude (or elevation) P = Prevailing Winds D = Distance from the Sea (continentality) O = Ocean Currents G = Great Barriers (orographic precipitation)

Latitude Latitude – divided into three zones –HOW CLOSE ARE YOU TO THE EQUATOR AND THE SUN???? 1. Low or tropical – around the equator to the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn - hot, but with dry and rainy seasons (RED) 2. Middle or temperate – between tropics and polar variety of temperatures and rainfalls - (This is US – GREEN) 3. High or polar – North and South Poles. Cold, possibly desert.(BLUE) ZonesofLatitude

Altitude (or Elevation) Elevation – the distance above sea level. **As you get higher in elevation, temperature decreases – think about walking up a mountain**

Prevailing Winds Caused by differences in temperature and pressure. Wind over Land=Cooler and Dryer Wind over Water= Warmer and Wetter Caused by differences in temperature and pressure. Hot air rises and cold air sinks. This starts rotation, or winds. At the same time, the earth is moving through space, dragging the atmosphere along The combination rotation and “drag” create the pattern to the right. Global Wind Patterns The pattern of wind shifts is close to the lines of the tropics

Distance from Sea - Continentality Continentality is simply a way of saying that the farther you are from the oceans, the less effect oceans have on climate. An example: Florida v Nebraska

Ocean Currents Convection Currents

Ocean Currents Water near the equator is hottest. Ocean Currents move the heat of the sun around the planet by circulating it. Hot water rises and cooler water sinks, creating currents. What patterns can you see? Equator Temperature

Ocean Currents Water stays hot or cold longer than air (think about a swimming pool in the summer) Cool air is dry and warm air is moist (think about summer humidity) The colder an ocean current, the less moisture (and eventually rainfall) it carries. SO – ocean currents can change TEMPERATURE and RAINFALL patterns. EXAMPLE – Florida v Southern California Wind over Warm Ocean Current=Warmer and Wetter Wind over Colder Ocean Current=Cooler and Dryer

Great Barriers - Mountains What landforms are there and how do they affect the weather? Think about precipitation on an island?

Great Barriers – rainshadow or orographic precipatation Warm, moist are rises and cools, generating rain. As the clouds move higher up, they get cooler and more rain falls, until they finally run out of moisture One side of the mountain gets rainfall, the other is very dry.

Climate changes Natural – El Nino and La Nina – changes in wind pattern in the Pacific Ocean causing temperature/rainfall changes. Manmade – global warming (slow temperature increases) and the green house effect (gasses released by burning fossil fuels trap heat in the atmosphere)

World Climate Regions Geographers divide the earth into climate regions based on weather patterns over many years. The most important factors in defining a climate region are TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION. We can map temperature and precipitation to gather information about a region’s climate.

Climographs – another type of map Shows both temperature and precipitation across a period of time. How many inches of precipitation in August? What is the temperature in August? What can we infer about the climate? This is Florida……

Climate Activity Chart Fold your piece of paper to create 12 squares – let’s do it together….. Each square represents a climate region. In the top 2/3 of the square, draw a picture (in color) showing what the climate region looks like. In the bottom 1/3 of the square, list the name of the region, main characteristics, and a real world example. Use the Geography Alive textbook pages 30-33 Google “Climate Types for Kids”