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8th Grade
 As
you know, weather conditions may not
last very long.
 However, the climate of your area
changes over much longer periods of
time.
 Climate is the characteristic weather
conditions in a place over a long period.
Four key geographical factors affect
temperature and precipitation:
1. Latitude
2. Altitude
3. Distance from large bodies of water
4. Ocean currents
 Latitude
is the distance in degrees north
or south of the equator, which is 0
degrees.
 The earth is heated unevenly and the
average temperatures generally
decrease as you move away from the
equator into higher latitudes.
 Altitude, the
height above sea level, is
another geographical factor that affects
temperature.
 If you rode a cable car up a mountain, the
temperature would decrease by about
11.7 degrees F for every kilometer you
rose in altitude.
 Why?
 Altitude
increases can overcome the
effect of lower latitudes on temperature.
 The temperature at the peak of a tall
mountain is low regardless of the
mountain’s latitude.
 Example: Mount Stanley, in central
Africa, has ice sheets and a permanent
covering of snow.
 Land
heats up and cools faster than
water.
 Because oceans and large lakes slow
down heating and cooling of the air,
coastal regions tend to have milder
temperatures than areas far inland.
 Climates influenced by these factors are
called marine and continental climates.
 Marine
climates occur near the ocean,
usually along the west coast of continents.
 Temperatures do not drop very far at
night.
 Summers and winters are mild.
 Many marine climates receive steady
precipitation because winds blowing off
the ocean bring moisture to the
atmosphere.
 Continental
climates occur in the interior of
continents.
 Weather patterns vary in the different types
of continental climates.
 However, most have large differences
between daytime and night time
temperatures because they lack the
influence of nearby oceans.
 For the same reason, winter months are
usually much colder than summer months.
 Ocean
currents are streams of water that
flow through oceans in regular patterns.
 They influence climates by transferring
energy from one part of an ocean to
another.
 In general, warm-water currents carry
warmth from the tropics to higher latitudes,
where they help keep coastal regions warm.
 What do you think cold-water currents do?
 Seasons
are periods of the year
associated with specific weather
conditions, such as cold temperatures or
frequent rain.
 These periods are part of the overall
pattern that makes up a climate.
 Like
temperature patterns, seasonal
patterns of precipitation vary among
different climates.
 Example: Connecticut and Montana
 Many tropical regions have wet and dry
seasons.
 These regions stay warm all year long,
but certain months are much rainier than
other months.