3. Description – hot and wet throughout the year. Precipitation Wet – 80 + inches a year - Rains daily Temperatures about 80 all year vegetation - Lush and diverse – 6% of earth, but more than half the plant and animal species. Canopy – layers of broadleaf evergreen trees. Leaching – continuous rain pulls the nutrients out of the soil (not arable) Amazon River Basin Congo River Basin Indonesia

4. Description – grassland with distinct dry and wet seasons. Winter is dry. Summers have 20 – 100 inches of precipitation a year. Winter is dry. Dry season is dramatic. High year round temperatures around 80. Vegetation – clumps of coarse grass and few trees. Llanos of Venezuela Caribbean Islands Serengeti of Tanzania

6. Description – dry, largely treeless grassland. Location – Low & mid latitudes. Border deserts & interior of continents (leeward side) Precipitation 10 – 20 inches a year Vegetation - Grassland with few trees or cactus. Desertification - spread of desert-like conditions to semi- arid areas is a serious problem in the Steppe

7. Description – dry area with sparse plant life that covers about 1/3 of the world’s land. There are two types of terrain: reg – desert pavement (gravel, rocks, and sand) erg – dunes Precipitation – 10 in. or less a year Temperatures: Desert does not mean hot – it means dry!!! Day and night temperatures vary drastically. Vegetation - scrub and cactus Oasis is an area in the desert where water is available.

9. Description – ocean winds bring cool summers and damp winters. Location – 30-60º on the west coast in N. Hemisphere and east coast in S. Hemisphere. Located on Westerlies. Precipitation: Ocean air brings abundant rainfall. Vegetation: large coniferous – evergreen forests called temperate rainforests and mixed forests - both coniferous and deciduous trees.

10. Description – mild, rainy winter and hot sunny summers. Precipitation: 15 – 30 in (mostly in the winter) Vegetation - Chaparral – underbrush, woody bushes and short trees – cork, olives, grapes, etc. Leathery leaves hold moisture

11. Description – short, mild winters and nearly year round rainfall. hurricanes & typhoons. HOUSTON is in HST Precipitation: year round Vegetation – fruits, rice, vegetables, inland grasslands, and mixed forests - deciduous and coniferous trees.

12. Description - 4 distinct seasons. Storms and continentality - far in the interior of continents influence climate. Location - interior mid-latitude in N. Hemisphere Temperatures: winters longer as you travel north and inland. Vegetation: Agriculture has replaced natural prairie grass, and short coniferous forests.

14. Description – bitterly cold winter and short, cool summers. Temperatures: Widest temperature range between summers and winters. Vegetation: Taiga (Russian word for forest) a boreal forest – needled evergreens. Permafrost – only a small layer of the ground thaws.

15. Description – very cold with polar night for ½ of the year. Location – far north in the northern hemisphere Temperature: Cold: rarely above 50° - at least 9 months below freezing – some below 0º Vegetation: Short bushes, short grass, mosses, and lichen. permafrost bogs in summer.

16. Description – snow and ice cover this area up to 2 miles thick Polar night – 6 months a year the sun does not rise above the horizon (24 hours dark) Polar desert – moisture in the air does not reach the dew point, so it does not precipitate. Far away from Equator (dry & cold as move away) Temperature: Below freezing all year - Many months below zero. Vegetation: Possibly lichen and moss