Objective for the Day Today, the we will learn how mountains affect the climate and complete a worksheet with 100% accuracy.

What is climate? *It is weather conditions prevailing in an area in general or over a long period of time. *It determines the type of plants and animals that can survive, and influences how people live. *It is determined by averaging the weather of a region over a long period of time, such as 30 years.

One way mountains can affect the climate is by Elevation What is elevation? The altitude of a place above sea level or at ground level

How many times have you seen snow on the top of mountains when there was none in the city below?

The reason for this is: Elevation -The higher the elevation, the lower the temperature becomes. -The rate at which temperature drops is known as a lapse rate.

Another way mountains can affect the climate is by rain shadows What is a rain shadow? A rain shadow is where rain does not fall. Deserts can form in rain shadow regions.

-Mountains act as barriers blocking rain and wind -One side of a mountain may have be experiencing a different climate then the other side. This could cause the mountain to create a rain shadow.

-On the windward side of a mountain range, air rises, cools, and drops its moisture -On the leeward side of a mountain range air descends, heats up, and dries the land

Windward vs. Leeward

So let’s review! What are two ways that mountains can affect the climate? Elevation Rain shadows

Video time s/science/weather-and-climate/weather- climate.htm

Works Cited espv=2&biw=1183&bih=651&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=VZ1bVO2PIIP 9yQTT_oGoDw&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#tbm=isch&q=leeward+windward+side+ of+the+ountains espv=2&biw=1183&bih=651&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=VZ1bVO2PIIP 9yQTT_oGoDw&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#tbm=isch&q=snow+on+mountains espv=2&biw=1183&bih=651&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=VZ1bVO2PIIP 9yQTT_oGoDw&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ#tbm=isch&q=mountains