Name
period
City:
City Climate Project
How does geography affect climate? Why is Cairo dry? Why is New Orleans hot and
muggy? Why does Juneau, Alaska have mild winters even though it is so far north?
In this project, you will answer the question:
How do geographic features influence climate?
You can pick any city in the world to study. This packet gives you detailed instructions
on how to find the information you need and how to present it.
We will have 3 days to research in the media center. After that, you will
need to finish your project at home. During our time in the media center you
will:



Look at data that tells you what the climate is like.
Explore the land features surrounding your city and use that information
to explain the reasons for the climate.
Research cultural information that relates to climate
You will present your research in one of the following formats – chose one that best
suits your skills and interests:
(in alphabetical order)
 Brochure – involves creativity in presentation and writing
 Meteorological Report – for scientific style writing
 Oral Report – if you like speaking in front of a class; involves creative use of
media (power point or overhead)
 Poster – involves creativity in presentation in a larger format
BEFORE you begin: Think about what city you want to research:. Write some ideas
of possible cities here. Do some research on your own to help you make your final
decision:
Note: Larger cities are easier to find data for. I encourage you to pick a non-American
city, I have an excellent web resource for international cities.
When we go to research part I, if you cannot find enough information you may change
your city. After part I is completed and turned in, you may not change your city
Final City Choice:
TIP: AS YOU WORK, COLLECT PHOTOS AND MAPS IN A WORD DOCUMENT – USE
THESE IN YOUR FINAL PRODUCT
Alison Lepard 2010
Name
period
City:
STEP 1: Use the resources listed under “Resources for Part 1” to complete part 1.
Part 1:
DESCRIBE the Climate of your City:
Average Temperature
Name of month(s)
Average High
Temp
Average Low
Temp
Warmest Month(s)
Coldest Month(s)
comments about temperature:
Rainfall
Name of month(s)
Average Rainfall
Wettest Month(s)
Driest Month(s)
comments about rainfall:
What is the Climate Region? Use pages 124-125 (lightning) or 120-121 (tent) of
science books in class to find the Climate Region for your city. If you are not sure
which climate region your city belongs in, read the description and see what
matches your data. If you think it is in between climate regions, write in both.
The Climate Region is
Book description of that region:
Alison Lepard 2010
Name
period
City:
STEP 2: Use Britannica Online (http://school.eb.com/) or use print resources (books)
that the media center staff will pull out to complete part 2.
Part 2 DESCRIBE the Climate of your City: Climate Related Facts
Provide 3 Climate Related Facts
Find facts that explain how the climate affects life in your city
Examples – note these are ONLY examples- you do not need these specific
types of facts!
 forms of recreation (is there skiing? Surfing? Camping?)
o “Skiing is very popular north of Oslo due to the snowy winters and
high mountains”
 plants that grow there (cacti? Forests? Mango trees?)
o “Tucson is famous for saguaro cacti that only grow in this desert.”
 animals that live there (bears? Jaguars? Monkeys?)
o “Because of the warm climate, monkeys thrive in Borneo. “
 what do people do for a living (farming? Lumber? Fishing?)
o “The cool climate in Walla Walla is perfect for pine trees, so lumber
is big industry there”.
YOUR FACTS:
1)
2)
3)
Alison Lepard 2010
Name
period
RESOURCES:
City:
Websites for Part I
For US cities, use
www.weather.com NOTE: this website keeps changing! This
is how it worked last time I checked
 Put in your city and press return.
 When you see the name of your city, click on it
 Scroll down to the middle of the page. On the right is a graph
that says “todays averages”. Under in VERY SMALL print it says
“historical averages. Click on it.
 You may see a table of data. At the top of the table in a green
bar, it says “daily averages”. Change this to “monthly
averages”
 Use this line graph to find the hottest and coldest months.
 Scroll down farther to find a graph of precipitation.
For INTERNATIONAL CITIES
use http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/world/city_guides/
1. Choose the letter your CITY begins with, then scroll down to
find your city on the list. If your city is not on the list, you will
have to choose a nearby city (see atlases for choices)
2. Read the table to find the hottest temperature and highest
rainfall. You can also scroll down for the bar graph for rain. On
that graph are also lines for temperature.
3. ****YOU will need to put this rain and temperature graph in a
work document to use for your final product.
4. You can also record humidity and any other important
comments from the table above
5. Go back 3 pages and then click on “country guides” at the
left.
6. You will choose the letter your COUNTRY begins with, scroll
down to find your country and click on it
7. Read the page you are given to get weather facts about
your city. Note that it will give you lots of WHYs – this will be
VERY useful for part II
OTHER SITES: If you use another weather website, list it here:
Alison Lepard 2010
Name
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City:
Resources for Part 3
Latitude:
1. Look at a map or atlas. They have lines and numbers along the sides that show
latitude and longitude. They also usually have this information in the Index listed by
city.
2. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001796.html has many US and Canadian cities
3. http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001769.html has many international cities
4. http://www.aviewoncities.com/_cityfacts.htm has facts on some of the world’s
major cities
5. Use Google Earth at home if you have it on your computer. It will show you the lat
and long when you put your pointer on the city.
Elevation
1. Go to www.wunderground.com
Select a city. When you are given the report, the elevation will appear about 10
lines down in the ‘current conditions’ box
2. http://www.aviewoncities.com/_cityfacts.htm has facts on some of the world’s
major cities
3. Use Google Earth if you have it. It will show you the elevation when you put your
pointer on the city.
Ocean Currents:Note: Ocean currents affect very large areas, not only the coast. Even if
your city is inland, unless you are in the absolute middle of the US, Canada or Russia, you
will need to recorded the closest ocean current. If you are inland, say that and what
effects it has (being far from water).
1.
www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/8q_1.html
An easy to read map with color coded arrows showing cold and warm currents. They
have several black arrows (no major temperature shift) where other sources have
colored arrows. Use this site to get the NAME of your current. Use one of the sources
below to confirm the temperature of your current:
2.
3.
www.uwsp.edu/geO/faculty/ritter/images/maps/ocean_currents.jpg
Use the red science book in class – page 111. It has no names but it gives temperature.
You must use one of the above sources as well
Alison Lepard 2010
Name
period
City:
Resources for Part 3 (continued)
Proximity to Large Bodies of Water
1. Use an atlas (in print).
 Get a RULER and measure the shortest distance from your city to the
sea. Use the scale to convert this number to kilometers or miles
 If your city is on the Coast, the distance is zero. Say “coastal”.
If your city is near 2 large bodies, you must talk about both bodies.
a. For example: Miami is on the coast of the Caribbean Sea but also
some _____ miles/kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico.
Proximity to Mountains:
1. Use an Atlas (print)
 You will need to use a RULER
 Measure the distance from the city to the closest major
mountain range. Use the scale to convert this number to
kilometers or miles
 This will be approximate. Since mountains start gradually,
measure to any point which seems reasonable to call
mountains.
2. For non-US cities, also pay close attention to the BBC
descriptions for your country – it will tell you about significant
mountain ranges. You also need to use the atlas, but the BBC
site will tell you important facts about these mountains.
Global Winds
1. Use the notes and pictures we drew in class
2. http://www.weatherwizkids.com/weather-wind.htm shows a map of
global winds about half way down the page. MANY other sites have
this same map.
Alison Lepard 2010
Name
period
City:
RUBRIC FOR ALL FORMATS
Information Required
ALL the information you collected in this packet should be part of your final
product
1.
Describe the Climate using the data collected
Include temperature, precipitation, climate region (a short
paragraph)
Include Cultural facts that help us understand how the city is
affected by its climate (a longer paragraph)
2.
Describe the Geographic Features and how they influence the climate
Latitude
Elevation
Ocean Currents
Large bodies of water nearby
Nearby mountain ranges
Global Winds
3.
Data:
Provide a map locating your city in the world (can be whole world
or just the country or continent)
Provide at least one graph and refer to it in your writing
Provide a list of your sources
4.
Quality – demonstrate that you understand the connection between these
geographical features and the climate of the city you are presenting.
SCORE: __________ out of 30 points (SUMMATIVE)
Alison Lepard 2010
______ %
Name
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City:
STEP 4: CHOOSE YOUR FORMAT, Use ALL the information you have collected to
finish the project.
Specific Requirements for each Format
Poster: I will supply you with a large piece of construction paper or you may get a
poster board. There should be large, eye catching titles. The name of your city
should be large. The central focus of your poster should be some sort of map with
geographic features labeled. The information required can be incorporated by
making captions for the map and pictures.
Focus on: Creativity in presentation and Neatness
Brochure: Make a tourist brochure but focus on climate. Tell us all about what
climate related activities we might see there. Discuss geographic features and
liven it up by working your information into descriptions of what people do there
how people live. Include a map with your city’s location labeled.
Focus on: Creativity in writing and presentation and Neatness
Meteorological Report: Write an organized, factual report incorporating all the
information. Use headings such as “Summer Climate” “Winter Climate” “Geographic
Features” “Plants and Animals” “Life in ________”
Focus on: Clarity of explanations, Clear organization and grammar
Power Point: Present your information orally in an organized way. Make a power
point that can be shown on the Promethean board - I can help you with this part.
You need to plan well so you incorporate all the info.
Focus on: Organization, Clarity of explanations, Attractive, readable slides
Alison Lepard 2010