1. Climate

2. What is climate? Long term weather pattern. Determined by – Latitude – Air Masses – Continentality – Elevation – Mountains – Ocean Currents – Pressure/Prevailing Winds – Storms

3. Low Latitude Tropical - Between Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn

4. Tropical Wet: Warm Temperatures Large amounts of rain year-round

5. Savannah 20-30 degrees N & S of Equator Wet and Dry seasons

6. Mid Latitude

7. Mediterranean – Western edge of continent – Mild wet winters – Warm dry summers – S. California, S. Africa, Mediterranean area

8. MidLatitude Humid Subtropical – Eastern side of continent – Wet summers – Shorter growing season than Med. climate

9. MidLatitude Marine West Coast – Western edge of continent – Wind off water moderates temperature – Mild summers – Cool winters – Northwestern US, western Europe

10. Severe MidLatitude Humid Continental – Eastern side of continent – Short summers – Long, cold winters – Eastern North America, central Europe, Asia

11. Sub-Arctic – long, cold, dark, winter – Short, cool summer – 7 months below freezing – Ice from September to May

12. High Latitude

13. Tundra – 1 month above freezing – Near Arctic Circle, North America and Asia

14. Ice Cap – 9% of earth’s surface – Warmest month averages below 0 – Very little precipitation – less than 5 inches per year

15. Any Latitude Dry Climates – Desert Less than 10 inches precipitation per year Can be cold or hot – Semi arid Edges of deserts Grasses, but not enough rain for trees

16. Highland or Mountain 3 0 cooler for every 1000 feet up Snow on north face of mountains above 12,000 ft, Colorado, July, 2009