Transcript Chapter 15-2 Climate regions

Chapter 15-2 Climate regions
1. What factors are used to classify
climate?
2. What are the five major climate
regions
Classifying Climate
• Climate is Classified by two major factors.
– Temperature
– Precipitation
• Five main climate types
– Tropical rainy
– Dry
– Temperate Marine
– Temperate continental
– Polar
Tropical Rainy Climates
• Tropical types
– Wet
– dry
• Tropical Wet
– Many rainy days
– Lush vegetation
– Rain forests
• Tropical Dry
– Less rainfall
– Grass lands
– Savannah
Dry Climate
• Arid or semiarid
• Arid –
– Less than 25 cm of precipitation per year
– Cactus
– Yucca
– Southwest US
• Semi arid
– edge of deserts
– Grasses and low bushes
– Called a Steppe or prairie
– The Great Plains
Temperate Marine Climate
• Three Types
• Marine West Coast
– North of 40 Lat and South of 40 Lat
– Humid cool rainy summers and mild rainy winters.
– Produce large forests
• Mediterranean
– Drier and warmer than the west coast
– Dense shrubs and small trees
– In California olives grapes and oranges are grown in this zone
• Humid Sub-Tropical
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The warmest region
Hot wet summers
Cool Winters
Houston, new Orleans
Mixed forest of Pine, oak, ash, hickory
Temperate Continental Climate
• Two types
• Humid Continental
– North East US
– Mixed forest
– Warm humid summers
• Subartic
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Russia, Canada, Alaska
Winters are long and cold
Coniferous tres
Large mammals
Polar Climate
• Two Zones
• Ice Cap
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Greenland and Antarctica
Temperature below freezing
Land is covered with ice
Few low plants
• Tundra
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Alaska, Russia, Canada
Short Cool Summer
Bitterly cold winters
Permafrost
Mosquitoes
Caribou
Musk oxen
Wolves
Highlands
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Lower temperature than surrounding areas
Animals typical of the subarctic
Moose, porcupines
Few trees above timberline
Summary
• What two factors are used to classify climate?
• Temperature, and Precipitation
• What are five Major Climate zones
– Tropical-Hot rainy, dry- little precipitation,
temperate marine- humid and mild, temperate
continental- warm summers cold winters, Polarcool summers cold winters