WORLD LANDSCAPES

Rainforest

Savannah

Desert

Mediterranean landscape

Temperate oceanic zone landscape

Temperate zone continental landscape

Polar landscape

Alpine landscape

Rainforests

EvergreenDenseThousands of different species of plants and animals

They appear in equatorial climate

very little differences in temperatures throughout the year, it’s always around 25°C.

It is a climate with a very abundant precipitation: 2000-3000 mm a year.The precipitation vary only a little during the year and it’s the highest when the Sun rays reach the Earth at the peprpendicular angle.

River Congo

alligator anaconda

gorilla

Savannah

Type of grassland

Some shrubs and trees like baobabs and acacias

Herbivorous animals: giraffes, zebras, elephants

Carnivorous animals: cheetahs, lions

Savannah landscapes appear in tropical climates

There are two seasons: rainy and dry

The annual precipitation depends on the distance from the equator and may be between 600 and 2000 mm

The temperatures are always high, above 25°C

acacia

baobab

World’s grasslands

Desert

area where there is very little rainfall

usually located on the tropics

there are diffrent types of deserts: sandy, stony, rock

World’s deserts

Sandy desert (erg)

Stony desert (serir)

Rock desert (hamada)

Mediterranean landscape

A landscape typical for the coastal area of the Mediterranean Sea

similar landscapes can be found in other areas of the same latitude (around 40°C)

warm/ hot, dry summers and mild to cool, wet winters

precipitation not very high (around 500 mm), most of it during winter

the plants are mostly shrubs, the plant formations in deifferent areas have different names:

maquis in the Mediterranean Basin, chapparal in California, matorral in Chile, fynbos in

South Africa, and mallee and kwongan shrublands in Australia

other plants are holm oak trees, pine trees, lavender

fynbos, South Africamaqui, France

chapparral, California

shrubland of Australia

Oceanic landscape of the temporate zone

found on the coastal zones of the continents

often appear next to warm ocean currents

maritime climate is humid, with a lot of precipitation throughout the year

the summers are rainy and not very hot

the winters are rainy and mild

there is dense vegetation all year round

Cornwall plains

Landscape of Galicia

Continental landscape of the temporate zone

Occur in the centres of great continents in the temporate zone: Asia and North

America, partly in South America

very big differences in temperatures: very cold and dry winters and hot summers

summer is the season with most of the precipitation

coniferous forest or taiga (with pine and fir trees) are typical plant formation in this

zone

In dryer areas there may be steppes – landscapes of low grass

pine tree

Fir trees

Polar landscapes

Arctic or antarctic, found at latitudes higher than the Arctic and Antarctic Circles

The temperatures are low, even - 50°C or less

During the summer the temperatures rise to 10°C

There is very little precipitation (around 300 mm)

The landscape is formed mostly by glaciers and snow

Vegetation is very little due to harsh conditions, in warmer parts there might be

Grasslands with little trees or bushes named tundra

Alpine landscapes

Himalaya

A glacier in the Alpes

Pyrenees

Tatra Mountains, Poland

The Andes