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Published byPearl Richardson Modified over 9 years ago
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18-2 Climate Regions Scientists classify climates according to 2 major factors: *temperature *precipitation There are 5 major climate regions: tropical rainy, dry, temperate marine, temperate continental, and polar Example of a Climate Regions Map images.encarta.msn.com/.../maps/map/T373599A.gif
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18-2 Climate Regions: Tropical Rainy Climates
*Tropical Wet *Tropical Wet-and-Dry Tropical wet climate has many rainy days with year-round heat and heavy rainfall. Found in equatorial lowlands *Rain forests often grow in this climate. Rain forests are forests in which plenty of rain falls year-round * Windward side of Hawaiian island Kauai is only area in United States Background:
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18-2 Climate Regions: Tropical Rainy Climates
Tropical Wet-and-Dry climates get less rain than tropical wet climates and have distinct dry and rainy seasons * Has savannas which are tropical grasslands *Southern tip of Florida is example Background photo from:
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18-2 Climate Regions: Dry Climates
DRY CLIMATES exist where the amount of precipitation is less than the amount of water that could evaporate *Arid *Semiarid Arid regions, or deserts, get less than 25 centimeters of rain each year * only specialized plants like cactus can survive * Parts of Southern California and southwestern United States have arid climates
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18-2 Climate Regions: Dry Climates
Semiarid areas are usually located on the edges of deserts and often get enough rainfall for short grasses and low bushes to grow * A steppe is a prairie or grassland found in the semiarid climate region * The Great Plains of the United States are a semiarid region.
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18-2 Climate Regions: Temperate Marine Climates
TEMPERATE MARINE CLIMATES are humid and have mild winters and are located on the coasts of continents in the temperate zones *Marine West Coast *Mediterranean *Humid Subtropical Marine West Coast is the coolest temperate marine climate * found on west coasts north of 40° North and south of 40° South *Humid ocean air brings cool, rainy summers and mild, rainy winters. Thick forests of tall trees are here. * Northwestern U.S. such as Washington state, Oregon, and northern California
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18-2 Climate Regions: Temperate Marine Climates
Mediterranean is a coastal climate that is drier and warmer than west coast marine. *Climate is mild with “two seasons” winter has cool, rainy weather, summer is warmer with little rain. *Grasses and dense shrubs and small trees *Southern coast of California Background from-
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18-2 Climate Regions: Temperate Marine Climates
Humid Subtropical has the warmest temperate marine climate, it is wet and warm but not constantly hot like tropics * Summers are hot with more rain than in winter *Winters are cool to mild, with more rain than snow *Southeastern U.S.
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Image from- images.encarta.msn.com/.../maps/map/T373599A.gif
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18-2 Climate Regions: Temperate Continental Climates
TEMPERATE CONTINENTAL CLIMATES are found in Northern Hemisphere are not influenced much by oceans, they tend to have extremes of temperature *Humid Continental *Subarctic
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18-2 Climate Regions: Temperate Continental Climates
Humid Continental climates have constantly changing weather due to shifting tropical and polar air masses *moderate amounts of rain in summer with smaller amounts of rain or snow in winter *Northeastern and Midwest U.S. from New York to Kansas and states to the north Subarctic climates lie north of humid continental * Short, cool summers and long, bitterly cold winters * Climates of Russia, Canada, and Alaska
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18-2 Climate Regions: Polar Climates
POLAR CLIMATE is the coldest climate region, only in far north and south, near North and South poles *Ice Cap *Tundra Ice Cap climates have average temperatures always below freezing *covered in ice and snow *Greenland and Antarctica Background from-
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18-2 Climate Regions: Polar Climates
18-2 Climate Regions: Polar Climates Tundra climates have short, cool summers with bitterly cold winters *Permafrost is permanently frozen soil, doesn’t allow water to drain well so it is wet and boggy in the summer *Northern Alaska, Canada, and Russia HIGHLANDS CLIMATE REGION are high areas that are colder than the areas that surround them *temperature falls as altitude increases, climbing 1,000 meters up is like traveling 1,200 kilometers north
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