Section 3: Climate and Vegetation Patterns

Big Idea: All the world’s climates support a variety of ecosystems.

Write the bold vocab words and definition.

Get out another piece of paper and title it 3.3 notes.

Read to Discover• How do the two tropical climates differ?• What conditions are common in dry climates?• What climates are found in the middle

latitudes?• What characterizes high-latitude and highland

climates?

Tropical Humid Climate

• Close to equator• Warm temperatures• Rainfall all year• Receives Sun’s rays

directly all year• Rising warm air• Rain forests• Monsoons

Tropical Wet and Dry Climates

• North &south of tropical humid

• Caused by seasonal change in this area

• Alternating wet &dry seasons

• Savannas

Tropical Climates• Ecosystems- community of plants, animals

and non-living things in an area. Vary around the world.

• Arid climate (desert)-dry, low rainfall– Generally centered about 30 degrees north & south of equator– Subtropical high-pressure zone causes sinking dry air, with

little rain.– Winters may be very cold, summers very hot.– Hardy plants & animals

• Semiarid climate- btw humid & arid areas/ more moisture than the Arid climate.

Dry Climate Areas-Arid & Semiarid

• Middle latitudes – found between the tropical and the high polar regions.

• Mediterranean—Long, dry summers & mild winters; scrub woodland vegetation

• Humid Subtropical—Hot, humid summers & mild winters; temperate forests

• Marine West Coast—Mild all year; may support dense forests• Humid Continental—Variable, with four seasons; enough rain to

support forests

Middle-Latitude Climates

• Subarctic—Long, cold winters and short, warm summers; vast evergreen forests

• Tundra—Long winters, with permafrost; low shrubs, lichens, mosses, ferns

• Ice Cap—Polar climates; few land plants or animals

• Highland—Varies by elevation, with low elevations relatively mild & high elevations similar to ice cap

High-Latitude and Highland Climates