Study Guide for Climate
High
Mid
Low
Low
Mid
High
Low Latitudes: From 0 – 23 ½ degrees latitude (near the Equator). Also
called the Tropics. Hot and Wet. Climates: Tropical Savanna, Tropical
Rainforest, Desert, Steppe
Mid Latitudes: From 23 ½ to 66 ½ degrees latitude (between Poles and
Tropics). Also called the Temperate zone. Mild climates (colder and drier as go
away from Equator) climates: Desert, Steppe, Humid Subtropical, Marine,
Mediterranean, and Humid Continental
High Latitudes: From 66 ½ to 90 degrees latitude. Also called the Polar
region. Cold and Dry. Climates: Subarctic, Tundra, and Icecap
LOW LATITUDE CLIMATES:
Tropical Rainforest – WET & HOT ALL YEAR – almost daily precipitation.
High temperatures (around 80). ½ of all the world’s plants and animals.
Canopy – Many layers of trees that block out the sun. Leaching – continued rain
draws out the nutrients in the soil and makes the land difficult to farm.
Tropical Savanna – DRY SEASON IN WINTER FOR AT LEAST 2 MONTHS.
Dry season during the cold months. High year round temperatures. Vegetation
is drought resistant grasses.
Steppe - usually border deserts. Semi-arid. Desertification – spread of desert
like conditions to non-desert areas is a serious issue in the steppe. The Sahel is
the world’s largest steppe. ONLY 10 – 20 TOTAL INCHES OF PRECIPITATION
for the year.
Desert – Desert does not mean hot – it means dry! Vegetation – cactus and
scattered scrub except in oasis – areas in desert where water is available where
more vegetation is possible. DRY ALL YEAR – LESS THAN 10 INCHES OF
PRECIPITATION ALL YEAR.
MID LATITUDE CLIMATES:
Steppe - usually border deserts. Semi-arid. Desertification – spread of desert
like conditions to non-desert areas is a serious issue in the steppe. The Sahel is
the world’s largest steppe. ONLY 10 – 20 TOTAL INCHES OF PRECIPITATION
for the year.
Desert – Desert does not mean hot – it means dry! Vegetation – cactus and
scattered scrub except in oasis – areas in desert where water is available where
more vegetation is possible. DRY ALL YEAR – LESS THAN 10 INCHES OF
PRECIPITATION ALL YEAR. 2 types of desert – reg (the majority of deserts) –
“desert pavement” of sand, gravel, and rocks. Erg – sand dunes
Marine – precipitation all year because on Westerlies. SMALL TEMPERATURE
VARIATION between summer and winter ( about 30 degrees difference) 40 low
and 60 high. MILD SUMMERS AND WINTERS with precipitation every month.
Temperate rainforest in this climate.
Mediterranean – PRECIPITATION IN THE WINTER and much DRIER
SUMMERS. Hot sunny summers and mild, rainy winters. Chaparral vegetation
– short trees, underbrush, woody bushes (scrub)
Humid Subtropical – Houston. SHORT MILD WINTERS AND HOT
SUMMERS WITH YEAR ROUND PRECIPITATION. Hurricanes and typhoons.
Mixed forests – both deciduous and coniferous trees.
Humid Continental – HAS FOUR DISTINCT SEASONS – hot summer, cold
winter. Continentality plays a large roll in this climate – far away from water.
Agriculture has replaced prairie grass.
HIGH LATITUDE CLIMATES:
Subarctic – WIDEST TEMPERATURE RANGE BETWEEN SUMMER AND
WINTER TEMPERATURES. Short, cool summers (high around 70) and very
cold winters (below freezing). Permafrost – permanently frozen soil. Only the
top layer of the soil ever thaws. Taiga – Russian world for forest. Short pine
trees.
Tundra – 9 MONTHS OR MORE BELOW FREEZING. Rarely gets above 50
degrees. Permafrost. Low bushes, very short grass, mosses, lichen, and
permafrost bogs in summer.
Icecap – coldest temperatures on earth. NO MONTHS ABOVE FREEZING.
Polar night – 6 months of the year are dark because the Pole is tilted away from
the sun. Polar desert – too cold to precipitate. Covered in ice and snow up to 2
miles thick.
HIGHLANDS:
Orographic Effect – clouds too heavy to get over the mountains. Leeward side is
dry and windward side is moist. Every 1,000 feet up the mountain the
temperature decreases 3.5 degrees.
VERTICAL CLIMATE:
Tierra Caliente – hot land. 0-2,500 ft, banana, sugar cane, banana, cacao
Tierra Templada – Temperate land. 2,500-6,500 ft, coffee, cotton, tobacco
Tierra Fria – cold land. 6,500-10,000 ft. grains, apples, potatoes
Paramo – grassland. 10,000 – 14,000 ft. grazing sheep, alpacas, and llamas
Tierra Helada – above snow line. Nothing grows here.