Climate Basics
This climate is defined by cool, wet winters and hot, dry summers.
What is a Mediterranean climate?
This fault marks the boundary between the Pacific Plate and the North American Plate.
What is the San Andreas Fault?
This effect explains why deserts form on the leeward side of mountain ranges.
What is the rain shadow effect?
This strategy allows plants to survive drought by timing growth after rainfall.
What is drought avoidance?
Leaf hairs that reduce heat and water loss are called this.
What is leaf pubescence?
California is one of only this many Mediterranean‑climate regions in the world.
What is five?
Uplift of this mountain range strongly influences California precipitation patterns.
What is the Sierra Nevada?
This is the largest desert in California.
What is the Mojave Desert?
Thick tissues that store water represent this adaptation.
What is succulence?
A swollen plant base that allows regrowth after fire.
What is a lignotuber?
This Mediterranean climate variation includes frequent summer fog.
What is the coastal Mediterranean climate?
This tectonic process stretched eastern California and increased topographic diversity.
What is Basin and Range extension?
Mojave Desert plants primarily grow during these seasons.
What are winter and spring?
Losing leaves during the dry season is called this drought strategy.
What is drought deciduousness?
Some cones remain closed until exposed to this trigger.
What is fire?
Interior valley Mediterranean climates are hotter in summer because they lack this ocean influence.
What is coastal fog or marine influence?
These east–west oriented mountain ranges disrupt normal north–south climate patterns.
What are the Transverse Ranges?
Deserts receive less than this amount of precipitation annually.
What is 250 millimeters per year?
Annual desert plants survive long dry periods by remaining dormant in this form.
What are seeds?
Needle‑like leaves and conical growth form are adaptations to this climate type.
What is a cold (montane) climate?
This season delivers most precipitation in Mediterranean climates.
What is winter?
Mountain uplift increases biodiversity by producing rain shadows and this ecological effect.
What is habitat isolation?
Low soil nutrients, extreme heat, and water scarcity result in this productivity level.
What is low productivity?
Plants must balance CO₂ uptake with minimizing the loss of this resource.
What is water (H₂O)?
California’s high number of endemic species results from isolation and this evolutionary process.
What is divergence (or speciation)?