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MOUNTAIN
▲High mountain peaks are very cold,
like Arctic tundra, and they have similar
tough, low-growing vegetation. Lower
mountain slopes are warmer, allowing
trees to grow. The upper edge of this
zone is called the tree line.MEDITERRANEAN
▲The dry shrublands that lie between the temperate zones
and the main desert regions are named after the Mediterranean
area where they are most common. The tough-leaved plants
that live there can survive drying out in the hot summers.POLAR AND TUNDRA ▲
The polar regions get only weak sunlight in summer,
and are dark all winter. They stay frozen all year, but in
the north this icy region is surrounded by tundra, which
thaws in summer allowing some plants to grow.TROPICAL
RAINFOREST
▶Intense sunshine near
the Equator makes
moisture evaporate and
rise into the air to form
huge storm clouds.
These spill heavy, warm
rain on the land below,
fuelling the growth of
dense rainforests.
DESERT ▶
Some regions get so
little rain that they are
deserts. Many lie in a
zone of hot, dry air near
the tropics, but others
are just too far from
oceans. Some plants live
in deserts, so they are
not quite barren.TEMPERATE
FOREST ▶
Temperate climates are
neither very hot nor very
cold. Near oceans, the
mild, damp weather
allows trees to grow well
in summer, but many lose
their leaves and stop
growing in winter.Variations in the intensity of sunlight striking different parts of
Earth drive global air movements and weather systems. Between
them, these influences create a variety of climate zones, ranging
from steamy tropical rainforests to the icy deserts of Antarctica.
Most of these climate zones have a distinctive type of vegetation,
which is the basis of a whole wildlife community, or biome.CLIMATE ZONES
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