Socials 10
Escher 2015
Climate
msescher.weebly.com
1.
Look at the climograph on page 26 in your textbook (Fig.1-31). Fill in the following chart based
on the climograph’s information. You might need to do a little bit of Math here. 
Most Rainfall
Least Precipitation
Highest Monthly Temperature
Lowest Monthly Temperature
Greatest Range of Temperature
Between Summer and Winter
2.
The projected notes during class gave you some information about why and how the west and
east coasts of Canada have different climates. Consider how these different climates affect daily
life in the two regions. Have at least 4 points, total. You may write the answers on this paper.
Notes: Canada’s Climates
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Climate: Weather patterns (incl. wind, rain, sun, clouds, storms, …)
Two basic climate patterns in Canada: Continental & Maritime
Continental  inland areas, low precipitation, extreme temp ranges
Maritime  coastal (like us here in Vancouver), mild temperature, lots of
precipitation
 West coast has less extreme weather than East Coast, which
has more snow
Five Key Areas to Explain Temperature Conditions in Canada
 Altitude: how high are you? The higher you are from sea level, the colder
the temp. Have you ever noticed that you can still see snow on mountains
during July? Altitude is the reason.
 Latitude: the horizontal lines on a globe or map, measured in degrees. The
higher your latitude, the less intense sun rays. This means that the length of
days and nights vary.
 Distance from Sea: land heats and cools more quickly than water (science
fact!). Canada is a huge piece of land, so it can get pretty hot in summer
and fairly cold in winter. However, coastal areas are near water, so the
temperatures of summer and winter won’t vary as much as a city that is,
for example, in the middle of Canada (such as Winnipeg).
 Ocean Current: Currents are either warm or cold, depending on where
they are coming from. Our west coast currents are warm, which heats the
air and blows towards us, leaving us with a mild climate (it doesn’t often
snow in Vancouver, right?). The East coast (like Nova Scotia and
Newfoundland) are near a cold current, which is why their winters are so
much harsher than ours.
 Wind Direction: Our winds are usually from the West or North. So, West
coast areas have warmer winters because those warm winds are coming to
us from the oceans.
The old record for the highest summer temperature in Canada was 45C in Saskatchewan, 1937.
We broke BC’s record this past summer (2015) at 40.6C---wow!