Climate Zones

Climate Zones
An Internet Hotlist on Climate Zones

created by Susan DiSalvo
Blacksburg Middle School

Introduction
Have you ever wondered why one area of the world is a desert, another a grassland, and another a rainforest? Why are there different forests and deserts, and why are there different types of life in each area? The answer is climate.
Climate is the characteristic condition of the atmosphere near the earth's surface at a certain place on earth. It is the long-term weather of that area (at least 30 years). This includes the region's general pattern of weather conditions, seasons and weather extremes like hurricanes, droughts, or rainy periods. Two of the most important factors determining an area's climate are air temperature and precipitation.

The Internet Resources

Interactive Climate Zones

Interactive Climate Zones Map - Move your cursor over the dots to highlight climate zones on the world map. Click each dot to see a photograph of that climate zone.

Tropical Rainy

Rainforests - The tropical rain forest is a forest of tall trees in a region of year-round warmth.
Savannas - A savanna is a rolling grassland scattered with shrubs and isolated trees, which can be found between a tropical rainforest and desert biome.

Dry

Deserts - Deserts are areas with very little precipitation. They can be hot or cold!
Steppe - The Steppe biome is a dry, cold, grassland that is found in all of the continents except Australia and Antarctica.

Temperate Marine

Mediterranean (Chaparral) - The chaparral biome is found in a little bit of most of the continents - the west coast of the United States, the west coast of South America, the Cape Town area of South Africa, the western tip of Australia and the coastal areas of the Mediterranean.

Temperate Continental

Humid Subtropical (Deciduous Forests) - Deciduous forests can be found in the eastern half of North America, and the middle of Europe.

Polar and Alpine

Alpine - Cold, snowy, windy. When you hear those words they make you think of mountains. The Alpine biome is like winter is to people in New England; snow, high winds, ice, all the typical winter things. In Latin the word for 'high mountain' is 'alpes'. That is where today's word alpine comes from.
Polar (Tundra) - Did you know that the Arctic Tundra is the world's youngest biome? It was formed 10,000 years ago. Located at latitudes 55° to 70° North, the tundra is a vast and treeless land which covers about 20% of the Earth's surface, circumnavigating the North pole.
Subartic (Taiga Boreal Forests) - Taiga is the Russian word for forest and is the largest biome in the world. It stretches over Eurasia and North America.

Content by Susan DiSalvo, sdisalvo@mail.mcps.org
http://www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/listclimatesd.html
Last revised Wed Nov 12 16:56:01 US/Pacific 2008