1. HUMID TROPICAL (Tropical Wet)
Low Latitude Climate Zone
Characteristics: Hot temperatures all year long.
Rainy all year
Vegetation: Broad- leaf trees. Often forms a canopy with shrubs on earth floor (tropical rain forests)
Location: Africa, South America, and Asia
Unique Feature: Monsoon wind (seasonal winds that
change direction)
Summer Monsoon: Blows over water and brings moisture.
Winter Monsoon: Blows over land and is dry

2. Rain forest canopy in India

3. Views of a rain forest

4. Heavy water-logging due to incessant monsoon rain
in New Delhi on June 26, 2008.

5. Road and fields that previously were under water in Cambodia

7. SAVANNA (Tropical Wet and Dry)
Low Latitude Climate Zone
Characteristics: Hot temperatures for the majority of year. Has a wet season and a dry season. (See elephant and giraffe posters In classroom.)
Vegetation: Grasslands with few scattered trees.
Location: Africa and Australia (Outback)

8. View of an African savanna

9. Wet season in African savanna. What is in the tree?

10. Dry season in the African savanna

11. ANY Latitude Climate Zone
DESERT (Dry Climate)
ANY Latitude Climate Zone
Characteristics: Less than 10 inches of rain per year. Temperatures may be hot or cold depending on elevation and latitude.
Vegetation: Specially adapted plants to the dry conditions.
Location: All continents

12. Spring flowers in the Sahara Desert

13. Sand dunes in the Sahara Desert

14. Negev Desert in Israel

15. Badlands in the Negev Desert, Israel

16. STEPPE or SEMIARID (Dry Climate)
ANY Latitude Climate Zone
Characteristics: Up to 20 inches of rain per year.
Vegetation: Generally grasslands
Location: All continents. Usually located in the interior and often borders a desert.

17. Mongolian Steppe

18. Gazelles on the eastern steppe of Mongolia

19. Mediterranean Climate
Middle Latitude Climate Zone
Characteristics: Dry, hot summers and wet, mild winters.
Vegetation: Forests, grasses, and shrubs
Location: Areas near the Mediterranean Sea. In the U.S. – southern California
Dangers: Wildfires in the dry summer and mud slides in the wet winter

20. Mountain covered with Mediterranean vegetation

21. California firefighter hosing down Mediterranean plant life
to stop the spread of a summer wildfire.

22. Results of a mudslide in southern California
due to Mediterranean winter rains.

23. Marine West Coast Climate
Middle Latitude Climate Zone
Characteristics: Rainy year round; mild temperatures year round due to nearness of large bodies of water
Vegetation: Mixed forests of broadleaf (deciduous) and evergreen trees (coniferous); possible only evergreen forests
Location: Large portion of Western Europe; in the U.S. – NW states (northern CA, OR, WA)

24. Redwood forest in northern California

26. Coast redwoods, the world’s tallest tree, can reach in excess
                                                                                                                                 Coast Redwoods, the world's tallest tree, can reach in excess of 300 feet tall.
Coast
redwoods,
the world’s
tallest tree, can
reach in excess
of 300 feet tall.

27. Humid Subtropical Climate
Middle Latitude Climate Zone
Characteristics: Long hot, humid summers; cool winters with some chance of snow. Precipitation all year.
Vegetation: Mixed forests of broadleaf (deciduous) and evergreen trees (coniferous); possible only evergreen forests
Location: Usually the SE region of a continent. In U.S. – Southern and Gulf Coast states: NC, SC, GA, FL, LA, MS, AL, AR
Dangers: Severe storms with heavy rains, strong winds, and high seas called hurricanes or typhoons

28. Middle Latitude Climate Zone Locations

29. Humid subtropical forest

30. Mississippi's humid subtropical climate provides for heavy growth of greenery such as this scene.

31. Humid Continental Climate
Middle Latitude Climate Zone
Characteristics: Extreme change in temperatures from summer to winter. Summers can be warm to hot and winters can be very cold. Precipitation is year round. Four distinct seasonal changes.
Vegetation: Mixed forests of broadleaf (deciduous) and evergreen trees (coniferous); grasslands
Location: Usually the interior region of a continent. In U.S. – Midwestern states and NE corner (New England)
Dangers: Severe wind storms usually at the change of cold to warm season. These are called tornadoes.

32. Midwestern U.S. grasslands also known as prairies

33. Wheat field after a storm

34. Hoxie, Kansas, tornado in 2008

35. Subarctic Climate (Taiga)
High Latitude Climate Zone
Characteristics: Brief, cool summers; long, bitterly cold winters
Vegetation: Large evergreen (coniferous) forests
Location: Near Arctic Circle

36. Large, coniferous woodlands

37. High Latitude Climate Zone
Tundra Climate
High Latitude Climate Zone
Characteristics: “Summerless” – at least 9 months are below freezing; precipitation is usually below 10 inches
Vegetation: Vast treeless plains with low grasses, moss, and lichens (fungus)
Location: Above Arctic Circle and Antarctica peninsulas
Unique trait: Permafrost – ground is permanently frozen year round. Only the top few inches may thaw into wet marshes in the summer. Mosquitoes will breed in this environment.

38. Ice mounds are common on the tundra
where the permafrost lies under the surface.

39. Tundra Soil Peeled Back at Level of Permafrost - Alaska

40. Arctic Circle

41. Fireweed gives unexpected burst of color to tundra.

42. High Latitude Climate Zone
Icecap Climate
High Latitude Climate Zone
Characteristics: Summerless – ALL months are below freezing; Extremely low amounts of precipitation; windy; world’s lowest temperatures
Vegetation: Little to no vegetation
Location: Interior of Greenland and the Antarctica continent

43. The South Pole

44. A crack in the Greenland icecap with
a waterfall inside.

45. Highland Climate All Climate Zones
Characteristics: Temperatures and precipitation varies with elevation. Temperatures become colder the higher the elevation. Generally more precipitation the higher the elevation until eventually little to no precipitation.
Vegetation: Vegetation is greater at the base of the highland. Eventually there can be no vegetation due to extreme coldness and lack of moisture.

46. Telluride, Colorado