TROPICAL ZONES
This climate zone occurs near the equator and is warm, muggy, and rainy year-round.
What is humid tropical climate?
Earth's hottest and driest climate, receiving less than 10 inches of rain per year.
What is desert climate?
This word meaning "moderate" or "mild" describes climates that tend to have four distinct seasons.
What is temperate?
This climate occurs in coastal areas along the Arctic Ocean, where only mosses, lichens, and small shrubs can grow.
What is tundra climate?
This climate occurs on mountains and can have several different climate zones.
What is highland climate?
Geographers identify climates by looking at these three main factors.
What are temperature, precipitation, and native plant life?
These seasonal wind patterns can bring up to 37 feet of rain in just a few months, alternating between 6 months of dry and 6 months of wet weather.
What are monsoons?
Temperatures in some desert locations can reach this scorching temperature.
What is 130 degrees Fahrenheit?
This temperate climate found in places like Greece and California has hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters.
What is Mediterranean climate?
These permanently frozen layers of soil are found in parts of the tundra.
What is permafrost?
Highland climates exist because of this relationship: the higher you go, the _______ it gets.
What is colder?
Earth can be divided into this many general climate zones.
What is five?
This tropical climate zone is found a little north and south of the equator and has a long, hot, dry season followed by short periods of rain.
What is tropical savanna climate?
These semidry grasslands or prairies often border deserts and are characterized by short grasses.
What are steppes?
This climate occurs along east coasts near the tropics, with hot, muggy summers and mild winters with occasional frost and snow.
What is humid subtropical climate?
In this polar climate, winters are long and bitterly cold, summers are short and cool, and temperatures stay below freezing for about half the year.
What is subarctic climate?
In highland climates, the bottom of a mountain can be this type of climate while the top is polar.
What is tropical?
These dense evergreen forests thrive in marine west coast climates.
What are coniferous forests (or evergreen forests)?
These areas of tall grasses and scattered trees and shrubs are supported by tropical savanna climates that don't receive enough rainfall for dense forests.
What are savannas?
In steppe climates, these types of plants grow along streams and rivers, even though short grasses dominate elsewhere.
What are shrubs and trees?
Found on west coasts, this climate has mild temperatures year-round due to moist air from the ocean, with foggy, rainy winters.
What is marine west coast climate?
The harshest climate on Earth, found at the North and South poles, where temperatures can drop below -120°F.
What is ice cap climate?
Due to highland climate variations, you can see this frozen precipitation year-round on mountain peaks.
What is ice (or snow)?
In the Colorado Rocky Mountain scenario, this explains why you need a jacket at 11,000 feet in July.
What is altitude/elevation causing colder temperatures?
This famous rainforest exists in a humid tropical climate and can receive more than 8 times as much rain as the United States.
What is the Amazon rainforest?
Despite being hot, polar ice cap regions are technically considered this type of climate due to their low precipitation.
What are deserts?
This temperate climate, found closer to the poles, has four distinct seasons with short, hot summers and long, cold, snowy winters.
What is humid continental climate?
All three polar climates are found in these latitude regions near the poles.
What are high latitudes?
This atmospheric condition causes temperatures to drop as altitude increases in highland climates.
What is low pressure?
Tropical and dry climates include these three extreme types of places on Earth.
What are the wettest, driest, and hottest places?