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Climate and Vegetation. Chapter 1, Lesson 4. Lesson Objectives. Identify the factors that affect climate and vegetation. Describe the climate regions of the United States. . Vocabulary. Elevation Natural vegetation Arid Tundra. Climate.
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Climate and Vegetation Chapter 1, Lesson 4
Lesson Objectives • Identify the factors that affect climate and vegetation. • Describe the climate regions of the United States.
Vocabulary • Elevation • Natural vegetation • Arid • Tundra
Climate • Climate – the weather conditions, including temperature, precipitation, and wind, that occur in an area over a period of time. • There are factors that affect the climate of an area: • Distance from the equator • Distance from oceans and other large bodies of water • Elevation (height of the land in relation to the sea level) • Areas that are closer to the equator (Southern United States) are warmer than places farther away. • Areas that are close to water can be warmed by water in the winter and cooled by the water in the summer. • Areas with high elevations are cooler than areas with lower elevations – for every 1,000 feet above sea level, the temperature drops about 3° F.
Earth and the Sun • Earth’s orbit around the sun causes changes in seasons – summer, autumn (fall), winter, and spring. • Because the earth is tilted on its axis, places get different amounts of sunlight and heat at different times of the year. • Some places have four seasons, while other places it is mostly warm all year or mostly cold all year.
Vegetation • Weather in the 48 contiguous states generally moves from west to east. • Earth is covered with different kinds of natural vegetation, or plant life that grows naturally in a place. • The types of vegetation that grows in places depends on several factors including: • Soil conditions • Temperature • Precipitation • The amount of precipitation in a place is the single most important factor affecting where different kinds of natural vegetation grow.
Vegetation Regions • Most of the United States can be divided into four main vegetation regions. • Forest • Grassland • Desert • Tundra • Forest regions extend across large areas of both the eastern and western United States. • The larger grassland region in the United States stretches across the middle of the country. • Only plants that can grown in an arid, or dry, climate can grow in deserts. These plants include short grasses, low bushes, and cactuses. • A tundra is a cold, dry region where tress cannot grow. Tundra regions are covered by snow more than half the year.
Vegetation RegionsGuess the Region Forest Grassland Desert Tundra