 Weather vs. Climate

 Large bodies of water makes a difference:  Water retains warm temperatures easier and longer than land does…so places by big bodies of water tend to be warmer than places further inland

 Locations further inland, away from large water sources tend to have CONTINENTAL CLIMATES:  Extreme temperature differences with colder winters…and hot summers

 Higher elevations result in colder temperatures  Air temperature decreases about 3.5 degrees F for every 1,000 feet up

 Mountain ranges also affect precipitation patterns by creating “rain shadow effects”  Orographic Precipitation

 Climate obviously determines what grows where, so the world is divided into different vegetation regions

 Geographers classify regions based on their NATURAL VEGETATION:  The typical plant life that lives in a place where humans have not affected the land

 There are four main types of vegetation regions in the world:  FOREST REGIONS  GRASSLAND REGIONS  DESERT REGIONS  TUNDRA REGIONS

 There are actually four different types of forests:

 1. TROPICAL RAINFORESTS are found where it is hot and rainy

 2. DECIDUOUS FORESTS are ones in which the trees shed their leaves during part of the year

 3. CONIFEROUS FORESTS are found in colder regions as they have needle leaves that stay on year-round

 4. CHAPARRAL FORESTS are found where there are small evergreen trees and low bushes

 There are two different types of grasslands:

 SAVANNAS are found near the equator where they can survive dry periods

 TEMPERATE GRASSLANDS vary in length and kinds of grasses, they are often called “prairies”

 They may be just barren, sandy places, or they may have cacti and scrub plants

 ARID (extremely dry; little to no life)  SEMI-ARID (sustains more life)

 There are two types of Tundra in the world:  1. ARCTIC TUNDRA which is usually snow- capped and found near the poles

 2. ALPINE TUNDRA are areas near the tops of mountains that often have very hardy trees or mossy plants

 PERMAFROST is found in parts of the tundra  A layer of soil just below the surface that remains permanently frozen year-round

What vegetation region would you MOST like to live in and why?