DIFFERENT CLIMATES

DIFFERENT CLIMATES:

HOT ZONE

EQUATORIAL

The temperatures are high all year (around 25º), there is no winter and rainfall is heavy and regular (approximately 2000 mm). The rivers have a high, regular flow. Vegetation is lush with abundant plant species. These forested areas are known as jungle. Many trees grow very tall in search of sunlight. There are also many bushes, grasses and flowers. Most of animals are small and move easily in the dense vegetation: birds, reptiles and insects.

This climate includes areas of Central America, The Amazon, the Congo basin, the Gulf of Guinea and Southeast Asia (Indonesian Archipelago and South of Malaca Peninsula)

                                       Jungle in Salonga Natural Park - Congo Basin (Africa)

TROPICAL

As in the equatorial climate, the temperatures are high all year, but there are two seasons: the rainy (summer) and the dry (winter) season. Rivers flow varies depending on the season. In the rainy they rise but are almost dry during the dry season. Savannas, open grasslands with shrubs and isolated trees, are common in those zones. Many herbivores, such as elephants, gazelles, zebras, antelopes, live in the savannas. Also live predators, like lions, hyenas and leopards.

This climate includes areas in Central and South America, Central and Southern Africa, South and Southeast Asia and north and east Australia.

                                              Savanna in Serengueti - Tanzania (Africa)

DESERT

Temperatures are very high during the day and very cold at night. Rainfall is light and irregular. There are no rivers but there are wadis, dry riverbeds that contain water only at certain times of the year. There are also oases, that receives water from underground sources or from melting snow in nearby mountains. There is almost no vegetation because of the harsh climate, only cactus. In this areas survive only a few animals: lizards, snakes, spiders, scorpions vultures and coyotes.

                                               Atacama desert - Chile (South America)

TEMPERATE ZONE   (have four seasons: the more extreme winter and summer seasons, and the milder spring and autumn seasons.)

OCEANIC

The ocean causes mild temperatures. Rainfall is light and regular. Rivers have a high, regular flow throughout the year. The most common form of vegetation are the meadows, and other types include deciduous forests and moors (uncultivated areas of low-lying vegetation). Animals like bears, foxes and wild boars live in forests.

This climate includes areas along the coastline in western Europa, North America, southern Chile and Argentina and Australia and New Zealand.

 MForest in Asturias (Spain)                                             Moor in Colombia (South America)

MEDITERRANEAN

Summers are hot and winters are mild because of the proximity to the sea. Autumn is the rainiest season. Rivers have a low, irregular flow due to seasonal variations in rainfall. The forests are made up of evergreen trees. Shrubland forms the  undergrowth of the forest. There are many mice, rabbits, hares, snakes and other reptiles, insects and birds.

This climate includes areas on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, California, central Chile, South Africa and southern and southwest Australia.

Forest in Yosenite National Park - California (USA)                                                                               Maquis shrubland in San Pedro Martir -                                                                                            Baja California (Mexico)

CONTINENTAL

Temperatures are extreme with hot summers and cold winters. Precipitation is scarce, but the rivers have a high flow because the numerous tributaries that flow through the large plains. The most common vegetation is taiga in the north and extensive grasslands such as steppes and prairies in the south (temperatures are higher and rainfall lighter). The fauna include deer, moose, squirrels and hares.

This climate includes areas in the interior of Europe, Asia and North America.

Siberian Taiga in Scandinava                                                                    Steppes in Mongolia (Asia)                                                                  

                                   

COLD ZONES

POLAR

Temperatures are very low (between 0º and -40ºC). Precipitation is low and usually in the form of snow. Vegetation only grows during the warmest period of the year. It is limited to the areas bordering the Arctic and Antarctic Circles. These areas are called tundra (mosses, lichens and small flowers).

This climate includes areas in the north of the Arctic Circle and the south of the Antarctic Circle.

Tundra in Greenland                                                              Arctic Tundra in Denali National Park -                                                                                                 Alaska (North America)

HIGH MOUNTAIN

This climate includes areas above 2.500 metres.

Temperatures are very low. Precipitation is heavy but decreases as altitude increases. The precipitation on mountaintops is in the form of snow. The vegetation in an area always changes in stages with changes in altitude.

Everest mountain - Himalaya (Asia)

                                                                                  Gredos mountains - Avila, Toledo, Madrid (Spain)