18-2 Climate Regions
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•
Scientists classify
climates according
to 2 major factors:
*temperature
*precipitation
There are 5 major
climate regions:
tropical rainy, dry,
temperate marine,
temperate
continental, and
polar
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Example of a Climate
Regions Map
images.encarta.msn.com/.../maps/map/T373
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599A.gif
18-2 Climate Regions:
Tropical Rainy Climates
 TROPICAL RAINY CLIMATES
*Tropical Wet
*Tropical Wet-and-Dry
 Tropical wet climate has many rainy days with yearround heat and heavy rainfall. Found in equatorial
lowlands
*Rain forests often grow in this climate.
Rain forests are forests in which plenty of rain falls
year-round
* Windward side of Hawaiian island Kauai
is only area in United States
Background: http://www.naturephoto-cz.com/photos/sevcik/tropical-rain-forest--destny-les-bali.jpg
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18-2 Climate Regions:
Tropical Rainy Climates
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Tropical Wet-and-Dry climates get
less rain than tropical wet climates
and have distinct dry and rainy
seasons
* Has savannas which are
tropical grasslands
*Southern tip of Florida is
example
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Background photo from: www.micro.utexas.edu/.../SAVANNA/savanna.gif
18-2 Climate Regions:
Dry Climates
• DRY CLIMATES exist where the amount of
precipitation is less than the amount of water
that could evaporate
*Arid
*Semiarid
• Arid regions, or deserts, get less than 25
centimeters of rain each year
* only specialized plants like cactus
can survive
* Parts of Southern California and
southwestern United States have arid climates
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http://weathersavvy.com/desert2
18-2 Climate Regions:
Dry Climates
• Semiarid areas are usually located on the
edges of deserts and often get enough
rainfall for short grasses and low bushes
to grow
* A steppe is a prairie or
grassland found in the semiarid climate
region
* The Great Plains of the United
States are a semiarid region.
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http://weathersavvy.com/desert2_OPT.jpg
18-2 Climate Regions:
Temperate Marine Climates
TEMPERATE MARINE CLIMATES are humid and
have mild winters and are located on the coasts of
continents in the temperate zones
*Marine West Coast
*Mediterranean
*Humid Subtropical
• Marine West Coast is the coolest temperate marine
climate
* found on west coasts north of 40° North and south
of 40° South
*Humid ocean air brings cool, rainy summers and
mild, rainy winters. Thick forests of tall trees are here.
* Northwestern U.S. such as Washington state,
Oregon, and northern California
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http://southhill.vsb.bc.ca/Departments/Humanities/Geogpraphy/Kyle/Notes/2_Atmosphere/Climographs/MarineWestCoastClimate/marine_forest.JPG
18-2 Climate Regions:
Temperate Marine Climates
• Mediterranean is a coastal climate that is
drier and warmer than west coast marine.
*Climate is mild with “two seasons”
winter has cool, rainy weather, summer is
warmer with little rain.
*Grasses and dense shrubs and small
trees
*Southern coast of California
Background from- http://www.move-to-cyprus.com/images/About%203.jpg
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18-2 Climate Regions:
Temperate Marine Climates
• Humid Subtropical has the warmest
temperate marine climate, it is wet and
warm but not constantly hot like tropics
* Summers are hot with more rain than in
winter
*Winters are cool to mild, with more
rain than snow
*Southeastern U.S.
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Image from- images.encarta.msn.com/.../maps/map/T373599A.gif
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18-2 Climate Regions:
Temperate Continental
Climates
• TEMPERATE CONTINENTAL
CLIMATES are found in Northern
Hemisphere are not influenced much by
oceans, they tend to have extremes of
temperature
*Humid Continental
*Subarctic
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18-2 Climate Regions:
Temperate Continental
Climates
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•
Humid Continental climates have constantly changing
weather due to shifting tropical and polar air masses
*moderate amounts of rain in summer with smaller
amounts of rain or snow in winter
*Northeastern and Midwest U.S. from New York to
Kansas and states to the north
Subarctic climates lie north of humid continental
* Short, cool summers and long, bitterly cold
winters
* Climates of Russia, Canada, and Alaska
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18-2 Climate Regions:
Polar Climates
POLAR CLIMATE is the coldest climate region,
only in far north and south, near North and
South poles
*Ice Cap
*Tundra
Ice Cap climates have average temperatures
always below freezing
*covered in ice and snow
*Greenland and Antarctica
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Background from- http://www.alexisparkinn.com/photogallery/NWPilots-Transatlantic/Day2SouthGreenland-Icecap2.JPG
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http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/images/biosphere/vegetation/tundra_ice_mounds_Alaska_DDS21_LMC0007.jpg
18-2 Climate Regions:
Polar Climates
Tundra climates have short, cool summers with bitterly
cold winters
*Permafrost is permanently frozen soil, doesn’t
allow water to drain well so it is wet and boggy in the
summer
*Northern Alaska, Canada, and Russia
HIGHLANDS CLIMATE REGION are high areas that are
colder than the areas that surround them
*temperature falls as altitude increases, climbing
1,000 meters up is like traveling 1,200 kilometers north
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http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov/Imgs/Jpg/Hood/Images/Hood85_mount_hood_and_lost_lake_ca1985_med.jpg
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