Transcript mountains - White Plains Public Schools

By: James Matthew Briggs Jr., Christopher Ryan Davis,
& Brianne Serena Santa-Donato
GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION
 Mountains are
found all over the
world. They cover
1/5 of the earth’s
land surface. They
differentiate in
altitude,
circumference, and
biodiversity.
CLIMATE
 Mountaintops are covered with snow and ice which reflect solar
radiation back into space.
 Climates change rapidly on mountains, becoming colder the higher
the altitude gets. This happens because as altitude increases, air
becomes thinner and is less able to absorb and retain heat.
 The cooler the temperature the less evaporation there is meaning that
there is more moisture in the air.
 Mountains can affect the climate of nearby lands. In some areas,
mountains block rain, so that one side of a mountain range may be
rainy and the other side may be a desert.
 Weather can change very quickly up mountains, in just a few hours
temperatures can drop from extremely hot to extremely cold.
REGIONAL VARIATIONS
Himalayans
•Above the tree
line are the
Northwestern and
Eastern Himalayan
alpine shrub and
meadows which
yield to tundra in
the higher
•Himalayan range.
The alpine
meadows are the
summer habitat of
the endangered
Snow Leopard
•March and April
mountains full of
snow and mellow
temperature.
Rocky Mountains
•The Rocky Mountains
have a highland
climate. The average
annual temperature in
the valley bottoms of
the Colorado Rockies
near the latitude of
Boulder is 43 °F
•The summers in this
area of the Rockies are
warm and dry, because
the western fronts
impede the advancing
of water-carrying
storm systems. The
average temperature in
summer is 59 °F and
the average
precipitation is 5.9
inches
Swiss Alps
•The Alps have cold
climates due to there
polar areas and high
altitude
•The Alps cover 61% of
Switzerland's surface
area
•mountains lakes are
artificial and are used
as hydroelectric
reservoirs
RESOURCES
 Mountain ecosystems have played a
critical role in maintaining a sustainable
flow of mountain resources to the plains
below
 Timber, Water power and force, and
minerals from mining, freshwater,
biodiversity, forest products
 Diamonds, Gold, silver, aluminum,
copper, coal, ore, granite, and marble are
all natural resources from mountains
CHANGES IN BIOME
 Over time the slow movement of tectonic plates
against one another or one plate sliding beneath the
other plate causes the earth to rise up creating and
enlarging mountains.
 Thousands of years ago when glaciers took up much of
the earth’s surface, they carved canyons and valleys
which now shape many of the mountains we see today
 Erosion through the sun, daily weather, and streams
have changed the shape of mountains as well
ANIMAL AND PLANT ADAPTATIONS
 Many animals such as mountain lions, mountains goats, mountain
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gorillas, pandas, cougars, yaks, snow leopards, pikas, and bighorn
sheep all have adapted to mountain life by adapting to high altitude,
camouflage, able to climb, and find food.
Pine trees are often found on mountains due to their wide range of
tolerance to climate.
This group of plants including, manzanitas, scrub oak, chamise, wild
lilac, and yucca plants, with their sword-like leaves and tall spikes of
creamy white flowers can live in poor soil with very little water
In shaded canyons, ferns, herbs, and willow grow along little creeks
under tall sycamore, live oak, white alder, elderberry, and big-leaf
maple trees. There are also big-cone spruce tress that grow in shady
ravines, with long, wide branches reaching for sunlight.
All of which have adapted to harsh wind, cold weather, and high
altitude.
THREATS
 Threats for mountains consists of human made
problems
 Mining, tree-cutting, factories for hydro-power,
blasting, avalanches, mud slides, fires, blizards, winds
 This causes a loss of biodiversity and destruction of
natural habitat
THE END TO ALL