Climates of North America

From the desert Southwest to the forests of the North east.

1. Climate North America By Jack Garrity

2. Book pages 121-125

3. A Varied Region Much of the United States and Canada experiences exactly the types of climate one might expect from the countries’ latitudes. Two thirds of Canada and the U.S. state of Alaska lie in higher latitudes and experience long, cold winters and brief, mild summers. Most of the continental United States and the southern one third of Canada lie within more temperate latitudes, where climate regions vary with elevation.

4. Northern Climates Large parts of Canada and Alaska lie in a subarctic climate zone that average below –18°C, winter temperatures of -57C (-70F) in some places.

5. Northern Climates Coniferous forests thrive, these are part of the Taglia , which is the largest continuous forest on the planet

6. Northern Climates A high atmospheric pressure area over the Canadian subarctic makes cold winds, bringing winter to the USA.

7. Northern Climates Tundra lines the Arctic coastline

8. Northern Climates Bitter winters and cool summers make it inhospitable for most plants, and few people live here.

9. inhospitable (of an environment) harsh and difficult to live in.

10. Northern Climates In Greenland only grows sedge, cotton grass, and lichens.

11. Northern Climates In Greenland only grows sedge, cotton grass, and lichens.

12. Northern Climates The island’s small ice-free areas have few trees, but some dwarfed birch, willow, and alder scrubs do survive.

13. Northern Climates Few people live in Greenland and the tundra. Greenland/Population 56,483 (2013)

14. Western Climates Latitude, elevation, ocean currents, and rainfall combine to make a variety of climates in the west.

15. Marine West Coast The Pacific coast from California to Alaska has a marine wet climate

16. Marine West Coast The mountains force the wet ocean air upward, where it cools and releases its moisture.

17. Marine West Coast Parts of the region gets more than 100 inches (254 cm) of rain each year.

18. Marine West Coast Coniferous forests, ferns, and mosses are common there.

19. Marine West Coast Ancient redwood and sequoia forests thrive.

20. Marine West Coast Sequoias are evergreens that live 1,200 -1,800 years or more, growing 115.5 m tall and 8.9 m in diameter.

21. Marine West Coast These trees are also among the oldest living things on the planet.  

22. Marine West Coast Prevailing winds gives little rain to Southern California, producing a mild Mediterranean climate.

23. Marine West Coast Prevailing winds gives little rain to Southern California, producing a mild Mediterranean climate.

24. Plateaus, Basins, and Deserts The rain shadow effect gives the plateaus and basins between the Pacific Ranges and Rockies a hot and dry climate.

25. Plateaus, Basins, and Deserts Much of the area has a steppe or desert climate.

26. Plateaus, Basins, and Deserts Including the Great Salt Lake Desert, Death Valley, the Mojave and the Chihuahuan Deserts.

27. Plateaus, Basins, and Deserts Including the Great Salt Lake Desert, Death Valley, the Mojave and the Chihuahuan Deserts.

28. Plateaus, Basins, and Deserts Including the Great Salt Lake Desert, Death Valley, the Mojave and the Chihuahuan Deserts.

29. Plateaus, Basins, and Deserts Including the Great Salt Lake Desert, Death Valley, the Mojave and the Chihuahuan Deserts.

30. Plateaus, Basins, and Deserts Including the Great Salt Lake Desert, Death Valley, the Mojave and the Chihuahuan Deserts.

31. Plateaus, Basins, and Deserts Here cacti and hardy wildflowers bloom in the brief spring rains.

32. Plateaus, Basins, and Deserts Next to these deserts, a steppe climate with a mixture of desert scrub.

33. Plateaus, Basins, and Deserts Grass lands (mid to southern) and coniferous forests (north) flourish with more rainfall.

34. Elevation Similar to South America, elevation, not latitude, produces a variety of climate zones and environments.

35. Elevation Similar to South America’s Tierra Fria, elevation gives the middle elevations a highland climate with coniferous forests.

36. Elevation Trees cannot grow above the tree line, similar to South America’s Tierra Helena and Nevada

37. Elevation In late winter and early spring, a warm, dry wind called the chinook blows down the eastern slopes of the Rockies, warming 1°C for every 99 meters.

38. Elevation The chinook rapidly melts and evaporates the snow at the base of the mountains.

39. Interior Climates Far from oceans, the Great Plains a humid continental climate with bitterly cold winters and hot summers.

40. Interior Climates Far from oceans, the Great Plains a humid continental climate with bitterly cold winters and hot summers.

41. Interior Climates Far from oceans, the Great Plains a humid continental climate with bitterly cold winters and hot summers.

42. Interior Climates The Great Plains benefit from moist winds that blow north along the Rockies from the Gulf of Mexico and south from the Arctic.

43. Interior Climates The Great Plains benefit from moist winds that blow north along the Rockies from the Gulf of Mexico and south from the Arctic.

44. Interior Climates The humid continental climate extends into southern Canada.

45. Prairies Prairies ( naturally treeless expanses of Grasses) spread across the Great Plains.

46. Prairies Rainfall ranging from 10 to 30 inches (26 to 76 cm) waters tall prairie grasses, such as switchgrass and bluestem (1.8 to 3.7 m) high.

47. Prairies In the Great Plains, violent spring and summer thunderstorms called supercells spawn tornadoes, with winds reaching 300 miles (483 km) per hour.

48. Prairies In the Great Plains, violent spring and summer thunderstorms called supercells spawn tornadoes, with winds reaching 300 miles (483 km) per hour.

49. Eastern Climates The humid subtropical climate of the southeast has long, muggy summers and mild winters.

50. Eastern Climates Deciduous forests extend as far south as Louisiana, with lots of cleared farmland.

51. Eastern Climates Wetlands and swamps like Florida’s Everglades shelter a great variety of vegetation and wildlife.

52. Eastern Climates In late summer and early autumn, hurricanes—ocean storms hundreds of miles wide with winds of 74 miles per hour (119 km per hour) —can pound the region’s coastlines.

53. Eastern Climates A humid continental climate extends from the northeastern United States into southeastern Canada.

54. Eastern Climates In Canada, a band of deciduous and mixed deciduous-coniferous forestland more than 1,375 miles (2,213 km) wide sweeps from Newfoundland into the subarctic Yukon Territory.

55. Eastern Climates In Canada, a band of deciduous and mixed deciduous-coniferous forestland more than 1,375 miles (2,213 km) wide sweeps from Newfoundland into the subarctic Yukon Territory.

56. Eastern Climates

57. Eastern Climates

58. Eastern Climates

59. Eastern Climates In the United States, deciduous forests continue grow at lower elevations into the south.

60. Eastern Climates In winter, much of northern North America has blizzards .

61. Eastern Climates Blizzards have winds of more than 35 miles per hour (56 km per hour), with heavy blowing snow.

62. Eastern Climates Snow often closes roads and school in the winter.

63. Tropical Climate North America has no tropical rainforest, the extreme tip of Florida has a tropical savanna.

64. End