Canada’s Climate Regions 8.2.1 Demonstrate an understanding of the basic features of Canada’s landscape and climate identify and locate major climatic regions of Canada explain the characteristics of Canada’s climatic regions and account for the variation among them

Dry Climates amount of evaporation & transpiration may exceed amounts of precipitation some are warm, and some are cool (annual temp. less than 18ºC) characterized by little rain and a huge daily temperature range. Two subgroups, S - semiarid or steppe, and W - arid or desert

Warm, Moist Climates (Maritime/Marine West Coast) warm, humid summers and mild winters in Humid Middle Latitude Climates land/water differences play a large part these climates have warm, dry summers and cool, wet winters.

Cool, Moist Climates (Temperate continental) over 70% of Canada warmest version (humid with warm summers) Subarctic zone (short, cool summer & only 1-3 months over 10ºC) found in the interior regions of large land masses total precipitation is not very high and seasonal temperatures vary widely.

Polar Climates very cold and dry Tundra zone and Ice Cap area permanent ice and tundra are always present only about four months of the year have above freezing temperatures

Polar Climates continued (High Latitude Climates) Subarctic Tundra Ice Cap

Elements of Climate Latitude (sunshine) Air Masses and Winds Ocean Currents Clouds and Precipitation Altitude Bodies of Water Mountain Barriers

Bibliography http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/climate.htm Canadian Identity (p.31-37) http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/uwsp_lectures/climates_toc.html http://www.worldclimate.com/