CK12 Earth Science

Figure17.12: TheSonoradesertishometomanywell-adaptedplantsincludingcacti,scrubby bushes, and perennials. ( 14 ) ...

Figure 17.13: This photo of the Great Basin in Utah illustrates the steppe biome. ( 26 ) Moist Subtropical Mid-latitude (Group C ...

Figure 17.14: A map showing locations which have a Mediterranean climate. The areas around the Mediterranean Sea are the best re ...

Humid Subtropical (Cfa) The Humid Subtropical climate zone is found mostly on the eastern sides of continents (Figure17.16). Rai ...

Figure 17.17: Pine forests are common in the humid subtropical climate zone. ( 32 ) Figure 17.18: The west coast marine climate ...

Figure 17.19: A Douglas fir forest in the Pacific Northwest. ( 38 ) ...

and stormy. The average temperature of the warmest month is higher than 10°C (50°F) and the coldest month is below -3°C (-27°F). ...

Figure 17.21: Parts of South Korea lies in the humid continental climate zone. ( 28 ) light, but temperatures are so cold that s ...

Figure 17.23: The vast taiga is known for its small, hardy, and widely-spaced trees. This photo is of the Alaska Range in Alaska ...

Figure 17.24: Tundra loses its green in the fall, as mosses and leaves turn brown. ( 11 ) Figure 17.25: The tundra biome is show ...

Ice Cap Ice capsare found mostly on Greenland and Antarctica, about 9% of the Earth’s land area (Figure17.26). Ice caps may be t ...

may be found in other areas of the world at high altitudes. Mt. Kilimanjaro in Africa lies near the equator in the tropics, but ...

Vocabulary biodiversity The number of species of plants, animals and other organisms within a par- ticular habitat. biome The li ...

Points to Consider Why aren’t biomes always determined by latitude? What geographic features or other factors affect the climat ...

Figure 17.27: The maximum extent of glaciers in the Northern Hemisphere during the Pleis- tocene epoch. ( 39 ) ...

ods were about 1.1°C (2.0°F) higher than today (Figure17.28). Notice that fairly small temperature changes can have major effect ...

In a normal year, the trade winds blow across the Pacific Ocean near the equator from east to west (in the direction of Southeas ...

Figure 17.30: In El Niño conditions, the trade winds weaken or reverse directions. Warm water moves eastward across the Pacific ...

North Atlantic Oscillation mostly alters climate in Europe. The Mediterranean also goes through cycles, varying between being dr ...

from the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines cooled global temperature by around 0.5°C (0.9°F) for a year. Massiv ...