Climate Regions

Chapter 10, Section 2 (Pages 282–288) Climate Regions

The physical environment affects how people live. As you read, complete the chart below by listing and describing Europe’s main climate zones.

Climate Zone Characteristics

Wind and Water (page 283) Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies,Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Inc. Europe is farther north than much of the United States. Because of this, you might expect its climate to be cold. However, the North Atlantic Current carries warm water from What is the main idea the Gulf of Mexico to Europe. Winds from the west, called west- of this subsection? erlies, pass over this current and also carry warmth to Europe. Other wind patterns affect regions in Europe. Winds blowing north from Africa warm southern Europe. In contrast, winter winds from Asia can lower temperatures in eastern Europe. The waters around Europe also influence its climate. Winds blowing from the seas help cool the land in summer. In winter, the same winds warm the cold land. Thus, coastal Europe has a more moderate climate than inland areas.

Climate Zones (pages 284–288)

Europe has three main climate zones—marine west coast, humid continental, and Mediterranean. Five additional climate zones appear in small areas of Europe—subarctic, tundra, highland, steppe, and humid subtropical.

70 Chapter 10, Section 2 Climate Zones (continued)

Marine West Coast Much of northwestern and central Europe has a marine Underline the types west coast climate. This climate features mild temperatures and of vegetation for much rain. The climate supports a long growing season. Rainfall each climate zone. occurs mostly in the autumn and early winter. Forests flourish in the marine west coast climate. Some forests have deciduous trees, which lose their leaves in the fall. In cooler areas of the How do mountains zone, coniferous trees, also called evergreens, grow. affect southern Humid Continental Europe’s climate? The second main zone is the humid continental climate. It is found in eastern Europe and parts of northern Europe. This zone has cooler summers and colder winters than the marine west coast zone. It also gets less rain and snow. The humid continental zone has mixed forests of deciduous and coniferous trees. Mediterranean The Mediterranean zone is Europe’s third major climate zone, and it includes much of southern Europe. Mediterranean summers are hot and dry, and winters are mild and wet. The Pyrenees and Alps stop cold winds from blowing into southern Europe. Southern France, however, experiences cold, dry, mistral winds from the north. Hot, dry winds from Africa, known as siroccos, pick up moisture as they cross the Mediterranean Sea. They bring Complete this humid weather to much of southern Europe. Vegetation in the sentence. Mediterranean zone includes olive trees, grapes, and low-lying shrubs—plants that do not need much water. winds are cold Subarctic and Tundra and dry, and The cold subarctic zone covers parts of Norway, Sweden, and Finland. Evergreen trees grow in this zone. Even farther winds are hot north is the tundra zone, a frigid area of treeless plains. Only and dry. low shrubs and mosses can grow in the tundra. During winter, the sun’s rays reach this region for only four hours per day. Highland The highland climate zone is found in the high altitudes Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, of the Alps and Carpathian Mountains. This climate is generally cool to cold. Temperature and rainfall vary in this zone, depend- ing mainly on a place’s altitude, or elevation above sea level. Evergreens grow part of the way up the mountains, stopping at a point called the timberline. Only scrubby bushes and low- lying plants grow above the timberline.

Chapter 10, Section 2 71 Climate Zones (continued)

Other Climate Zones The southern part of Ukraine is a dry, treeless grassland called a steppe. The climate—also called steppe—is dry too, but What are the five not as dry as a desert. An area of land north of the Adriatic Sea smaller climate has a humid subtropical climate. Summers are hot and wet here, zones in Europe? and winters are mild and wet. 1. Climate Change 2. Many European leaders are worried about global warming. 3. They fear that melting glaciers will cause ocean levels to rise, flooding coastal areas of Europe. Millions of Europeans live on 4. or near the coasts. Officials are encouraging people to change 5. their patterns of energy use. Most European governments have also signed the Kyoto Treaty, which limits the output of green- house gases that cause global warming.

Answer these questions to check your understanding of the entire Wrap-Up section.

2. Specifying In which of Europe’s climate zones do coniferous, or evergreen, trees grow?

Imagine that you live in the tundra climate zone. Write a paragraph Descriptive describing what a typical winter day might be like.

72 Chapter 10, Section 2