Utah’s Land Regions,
Climates and Water
Utah’s Three Major
Landforms:
1. Basins: Wide bowl-shaped areas
2. Plateaus: High, wide, flat areas
3. Mountains
The Great Basin Region
•America’s western desert region.
•Large flat bow, with small mountains
•No connection to the ocean
•Formation of Utah Lake and the Great Salt
Lake
•Location of most of Utah’s cities and towns.
The Middle Rocky
Mountain Region
• Uinta and Wasatch Mountain Ranges
•Many forests and home to many wild
animals--many parks.
•Best snowboarding and skiing in the world
•Most important source of water and
natural resources.
The Colorado
Plateau Region
•Covers much of Utah
•Very dry, little rain
•Over millions of
years, wind and rain have
carved wonderful
formations in the soft
sedimentary rock.
•All 5 of Utah’s national
parks are in this region.
Qu i c k T i m e ™ a n d a
d e c o m p re s s o r
a re n e e d e d to s e e th i s p i c t u re .
QuickTime™ and a
decompressor
are needed to see this picture.
Question: What was the
weather like when you
woke up this morning?
What is the difference
between weather and
climate?
Weather: condition
of the atmosphere at
a certain time.
Climate: the longterm seasonal
pattern of heat and
cold, wet and dry
conditions.
Climate is Referring to 5
Conditions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Temperature
Wind
Sunshine
Humidity
Precipitation
What affects Utah’s
climate?
1. Our latitude
2. Our elevation (how high we
are above sea level)
3. Our distance from the ocean
Where Does the Rain Fall?
• Wind or clouds come from the Pacific
Ocean and meet the mountains
• Ranges in California and Nevada meet the
clouds and rain falls
• Rain drops on the western mountain faces
• The rest of the clouds continue on.