Variations in Canada’s Climate Modified by Ms. Duff SJH

 Canada has many types of climates but they have been simplified into 4 major ones:  Dry Climates (Canada does have a desert!)  Warm/ Moist Climates  Cool/ Moist  Polar Climates (Guess where?? )

Dry Climates  amount of evaporation & transpiration may exceed amounts of precipitation  some are warm, and some are cool (annual temp. less than 18ºC)  characterized by little rain and a huge daily temperature range. Two subgroups, S - semiarid or steppe, and W - arid or desert

Osoyoos, British Columbia  Canada's driest climate & only desert  lowest rainfall, highest temperatures, and warmest lakes. Located in the middle of the Southern Okanagan wine country  fine wines match any wines from anywhere in the world.

Rainfall in Osoyoos  Average rainfall of less than 20 cm per year.  Growth is sparse, and desert plants and animals of this area are found nowhere else in Canada.  This ‘Pocket Desert’ is part of the Great Basin Desert, the network of deserts that extend southward to the Sonoran Desert in Mexico

Vegetation in Osoyoos  In fact, the plants and animals here are the same as those found in the higher elevations of the Mexican portion of this desert.  Typical plants found are sagebrush, greasewood, rabbit and antelope bush, and bunch grass.

Looks like a desert but…. Spruce Wood Provincial Park, Manitoba: Spirit Sands -4 km 2 of sand (was originally 6500 km 2 !) -deposited by glacial movement -wind-patterned sand, cacti, and high temperatures make it tempting to call it a desert -BUT too much precipitation

Warm, Moist Climates (Maritime/Marine West Coast)  warm, humid summers and mild winters  in Humid Middle Latitude Climates land/water differences play a large part  these climates have warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters.

Cool, Moist Climates (Temperate continental)  over 70% of Canada  warmest version (humid with warm summers)  Subarctic zone (short, cool summer & only 1-3 months over 10ºC)  found in the interior regions of large land masses  total precipitation is not very high and seasonal temperatures vary widely.

Polar Climates very cold and dry Tundra zone and Ice Cap area permanent ice and tundra are always present only about four months of the year have above freezing temperatures

Polar Climates (c ont.) (High Latitude Climates) Subarctic Tundra Ice Cap

Elements of Climate L.O.W.E.R.N Latitude (sunshine) Ocean Currents Winds &Air Masses Elevation: Relief Nearness to Water

Bibliography   Canadian Identity (p.31-37)  lectures/climates_toc.html 