Embedded Files
Phenomenon
Phenomenon
Along the coast of California, the west side of the mountains experience rainfall that support the growth of vegetation, but the east side of the mountains receive little to no rainfall and are deserts. Why?
Explore
Explore
Use Google Earth to observe the effect of mountains described in the video. Visit North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia.
Use Google Earth to observe the effect of mountains described in the video. Visit North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia.
Describe the patterns that you discover.
Describe the patterns that you discover.
Air cools as it rises up the side of a mountain. Rain tends to fall on the windward side of the mountain. The leeward side of the mountain is dry. The pattern tends to occur western side of continents.
n southern California, this type of orographic lifting results in wetter coastal conditions and deserts to the east of the mountains.
Orographic lifting can be defined as changes to air flow when the topography of the land forces the air up the side of a mountain. As a weather system moves across terrain, it must follow the topology of the terrain under it.
The diagram on the left shows the effects that occur in Washington state.
The diagram below is a cross section of the United States at 40.82o N latitude. Air moving from the Pacific must following the topography of the coastal mountain, Cascades, and Rocky Mountains. Air moving from Canada and the Gulf of Mexico interacts with the topography of the Great Plains, lowlands and eastern mountains. Air from the Atlantic Ocean is interacts with the coastal topography.
How might topography affect climates in New Jersey?
How might topography affect climates in New Jersey?
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse