Chapter 3 Section 3

World Climate Regions

Chapter 3 Section 3

Key Terms

• Tundra-Flat, treeless lands forming a ring around the Artic Ocean; also, the climate region there

• Permafrost- constantly frozen subsoil

Defining a Climate Region

 How are climate regions defined?

   Geographers use information about the weather over many years to describe a climate region. The two most important factors in defining different climates are temperature and precipitation. They also use the location on a continent, topography, and elevation to help describe the climate.

Defining a Climate Region

   The most common characteristic used to define climate is latitude. There are five general climate regions based on latitude. They are tropical, dry, mid-latitude, high latitude, and highland. Within the regions there are variations.

Multiple Choice

What are the five general climate regions?

• tropical, wet, mid-latitude, high latitude, and polar

• wet, dry, muddy, high latitude, and stinky

• tropical, dry, mid-latitude, high latitude, and highland

Types of Climates 

What are tropical climates like?

   The tropical wet region has little variation in temperature over the year. It is always hot, with an average temperature of 80° F. The days begin sunny, but rain falls almost daily. The average amount of rain in a year is more than 80 inches.

Types of Climates 

    tropical wet and dry climate has a rainy season in summer and a dry season in winter. Temperatures are cooler in the dry season and warmer in the wet season. Rainfall is less than in the tropical wet climate region. It falls mostly in the wet season.

Multiple Choice

Which climate has two seasons? What are they?

• Highland

• tropical, wet and dry

• mid-latitude

SEMIARID

   A semiarid climate region does receive precipitation, just not very much. Generally areas receive about 16 inches per year. Summers are hot. Winters are mild to cold. Some semiarid locations can have snow. This climate region is found in the interior of continents or in the zone around deserts. Even though it is dry, the region contains some of the most productive agricultural lands in the world.

DESERT

   Deserts are categorized according to the amount of rainfall. They can also be hot or cool/cold. Hot deserts have low humidity and high temperatures during the day. At night, temperatures drop because the dry air cannot hold heat well. Cool/cold deserts are found in the mid-latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere.

Multiple Choice

Where are cool/cold deserts found?

• high-latitudes in the Southern Hemisphere

• mid-latitudes in the Northern Hemisphere

• mid-latitudes in the Western Hemisphere

MEDITERRANEAN
  What are climates like near large bodies of water?

   The Mediterranean climate zone is named for the land around the Mediterranean Sea. Its summers are dry and hot, and its winters are cool and rainy. This climate region supports a dense population and rich agricultural activity.

MARINE WEST COAST

   The marine west coast climate region is frequently cloudy, foggy, and damp. The winds that blow over the warm ocean water keep the temperatures warm. Precipitation in this climate region is evenly distributed throughout the year.

HUMID SUBTROPICAL 

   Long periods of summer heat and humidity are found in humid subtropical climate regions. These areas are found on the east coast of continents. They often have hurricanes in late summer or autumn. Winters are mild to cool, depending on latitude.

HUMID CONTINENTAL

  What climate has four seasons?

   A great variety in temperature and precipitation characterizes the humid continental climate region. It is found in the mid-latitude interiors of Northern Hemisphere continents. Air masses chilled by Arctic ice and snow flow south over these areas. They collide with tropical air masses coming from the south. This causes changing weather conditions. These areas experience four seasons.

SUBARCTIC

   Evergreen forests called taiga cover the lands in the subarctic region. Huge temperature variations occur in this region between summer and winter. Summers are short and cool, and winters are always very cold. Temperatures at or below freezing last five to eight months of the year.

TUNDRA

§The tundra region is located in the Northern Hemisphere. Very little precipitation falls here, usually less than 15 inches per year. The land has permafrost. This means the subsoil is constantly frozen. The summer lasts for only a few weeks. Then the temperature may reach about 40° F.

ICE CAP

   Snow, ice, and permanently freezing temperatures are typical of the ice cap climate region. It is so cold that it rarely snows. These regions are sometimes called polar deserts. This is because they receive less than ten inches of precipitation a year.

HIGHLANDS

The highland climate varies with latitude, elevation, other topography, and continental location.

Multiple Choice

The two most significant factors in defining different climates are

• altitude and ocean currents

• longitude and latitude

• temperature and precipitation.

• humidity and seasonal changes.

Multiple Choice

The climate zone in which regions have a rainy season in summer and a dry season in the winter is called

• tropical wet.

• tropical wet and dry

• semiarid.

• highland.

Multiple Choice

A region is categorized as being in the desert climate zone according to the

• types of landforms that exist there

• types of plants and animals that live there

• the average amount of yearly rainfall.

• level of latitude and altitude

Multiple Choice

The flat, treeless lands that form a ring around the Arctic Ocean are called

• taiga

• ice cap

• subarctic

• tundra

Multiple Choice

When the subsoil of a region is constantly frozen, the region has

• high humidity.

• low humidity

• permafrost.

• taiga