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Variations in Canada’s Climate. Modified by Ms. Duff SJH. Canada has many types of climates but they have been simplified into 4 major ones: Dry Climates (Canada does have deserts) Warm/ Moist Climates Cool/ Moist Polar Climates (Guess where?? ). Dry Climates.
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Variations in Canada’s Climate Modified by Ms. Duff SJH
Canada has many types of climates but they have been simplified into 4 major ones: • Dry Climates (Canada does have deserts) • Warm/ Moist Climates • Cool/ Moist • Polar Climates (Guess where?? )
Dry Climates • amount of evaporation & transpiration may be greater than amounts of precipitation • some are warm, and some are cool (annual temp. less than 18ºC) • they generally have little rain and a huge daily temperature range.
Osoyoos, British Columbia • Canada's driest climate & only desert • lowest rainfall, highest temperatures, and warmest lakes. Located in the middle of the Southern Okanagan wine country fine wines match any wines from anywhere in the world.
Rainfall in Osoyoos • Average rainfall of less than 20 cm per year. • Not much growth, and desert plants and animals of this area are found nowhere else in Canada. • This ‘Pocket Desert’ is part of a network of deserts that extend southward to the Sonoran Desert in Mexico
Vegetation in Osoyoos • In fact, the plants and animals here are the same as those found in the higher elevations of the Mexican portion of this desert.
Looks like a desert but…. Spruce Wood Provincial Park, Manitoba: Spirit Sands -4 km2 of sand (was originally 6500 km2!) -deposited by glacial movement -wind-patterned sand, cacti, and high temperatures make it tempting to call it a desert -BUT too much precipitation
Warm, Moist Climates(Maritime/Marine West Coast) • warm, humid summers and mild winters • in Humid Middle Latitude Climates land/water differences play a large part
Cool, Moist Climates(Temperate continental) • over 70% of Canada • warmest version (humid with warm summers) • Subarctic zone (short, cool summer & only 1-3 months over 10ºC) • found in the interior regions of large land masses • total precipitation is not very high and seasonal temperatures vary widely.
Polar Climates • very cold and dry • Tundra zone and Ice Cap area • permanent ice and tundra are always present • only about four months of the year have above freezing temperatures
Polar Climates (cont.)(High Latitude Climates) • Subarctic • Tundra • Ice Cap
Elements of Climate L.O.W.E.R.N • Latitude (sunshine) • Ocean Currents • Winds &Air Masses • Elevation: • Relief • Nearness to Water
Bibliography • http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/climate.htm • Canadian Identity (p.31-37) • http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/uwsp_lectures/climates_toc.html • http://www.worldclimate.com/