CHAPTER 3 SECTION 3World Climate Regions

WORLD CLIMATE REGIONS Temperature and precipitation define climate

regions.

Broad climate definitions help to identify variations in weather at a location over the course of a year.

Place: This highland climate zone in Patagonia, South America, has several different climate regions including tundra and subarctic.

Question:

Examine the image and describe what kind of weather you expect at the different elevations?

I. Defining a Climate RegionA. Typical Weather

1. Temperature and precipitation define climate.

2. Location, topography, elevation may impact climate.

3. Five general climate regions:a. tropical (low-latitude)

b. Dry

c. mid-latitude

d. high latitude

e. highland

II. Types of ClimatesA. Tropical Wet

1. Always hot; daily rainfall adds up to more than 80” annually.

B. Tropical Wet and Dry1. Warm, wet summer season; cooler, dry winter season.

C. Semiarid1. Hot summers; mild to cold winters; little precipitation.

D. Desert1. Two kinds of desert—hot, cool/cold; less than 10” rain

per year.

E. Mediterranean1. Summers dry and hot; winters cool and rainy.

F. Marine West Coast1. Moderate temperatures; frequently cloudy, foggy, damp.

G. Humid Subtropical1. Long periods of summer heat and humidity; winters mild

to cool.

H. Humid Continental1. Great variety of temperature, precipitation; four distinct

seasons.

How are Mediterranean and Marine West Coast Climates different?

Mediterranean climate has a cool, rainy season and hot, dry summer, marine west coast has evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year.

I. Subarctic1. Summers are short and cool; winters are long and very cold.

J. Tundra1. Tundra—flat, treeless ring of lands around the Arctic

Ocean.

2. Very little precipitation; summer temperatures around 40°F.

3. Permafrost is the constantly frozen subsoil found in this region.

K. Ice Cap1. Snow, ice, permanently freezing temperatures.

L. Highlands1. Climate varies with latitude, elevation, topography, location.

What adaptations to the cold climate do you notice in this photograph?