The Climate of the United States (3300)

Hawaii [ha:'waii:] – Гавайи

Alaska [ə'lжskə] – Аляска

North Latitude – северная широта

Equator [i'kweitə] – экватор

The Gulf of Mexico [g lf əv 'meksikou] – Мексиканский залив

Hudson Bay – Гудзонов залив

Panama – Панама

the Arctic Ocean – Северный ледовитый океан

Mexico ['meksikou] – Мексика

the Rocky Mountains – Скалистые горы

The USA is a country of great differences which are partly a result of the geography. For the USA is a very large country so it has several different climatic regions. There are places that warm all year round, and there are places covered with ice and snow where summer never comes. The coldest regions are in the north and the north-east where much snow falls in winter. These are especially located in Alaska which climate is arctic.

The eastern continental region is well watered with rainfall. It includes all the Atlantic seaboard and south-eastern states and extends west to cover Indiana, southern Illinois, most of Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana and Easter most Texas.

The climate of the prairie lands lying to the west is drought. Dryness generally increases from east to west. Rain falls in every early summer. Here forests give way to grass. The prairies are covered with high thick grass. Nearer to the Rocky Mountains the grass is shorter for the Rockies are a high barrier to wet winds blowing inland from the Pacific Ocean. There are no trees because the roots of the grass grow at a very great speed and they prevent any tree from growing at the same place.

The higher zones of the Rockies and the mountains paralleling the Pacific coast to the west are characterized by a typical Alpine climate.

The American East is called “the humid East”. It has four climatic zones within. The northernmost zone is a region of northern forest that stretches from Maine across northern New England and upper Great Lakes. The growing season is very short; the winter is long and very cold. Most of the population depends on mining ore, forestry and on recreation. Southward is America's rural north. It is a region of mixed forest. Summers are hotter and longer there than in Europe. Still farther southward is the "humid subtropical forest" region, with its hot humid summers. Americans call this region "the South". The subtropical season is long enough for subtropical crops to be grown, such as indigo, rice and cotton.

As far as the western climate is concerned, American western air comes not from the ocean, but from the continent – extremely cold in winter. That is where the climate strongly resembles Britain. The south has a subtropical climate. The climate of the central and eastern part is continental and more resembles that of Russia. But the farther to the south is the warmer. Hot winds blowing from the Gulf of Mexico often bring typhoons. The climate along the Pacific coast is much warmer than that of the Atlantic coast. The region around the Great Lakes is known for its changeable weather.

If we compare the north and the south of the country, winters in the northern part are colder and longer. In the south winters are much shorter. Average temperature in January is mild. In the south the growing season is much longer. In fact, in some of states it is nine months long. The climate of these places is affected by other things besides the distance from the Equator. Landforms also affect climate. For example, a great belt of mountainous land stretches along the west edge of North America, from Alaska south to Panama. Some of these mountains are so high that snow can be seen on their peaks even in summer. Summer days are often bright and warm in the mountains, but the nights are cold. The growing season is far shorter than in the lowlands. Winters are colder in the interior lands than along the coasts, and the summers are warmer. Parts of the Pacific Coast are very wet. The high mountains of this region are responsible for all this rain. They catch the moist air that blows in from the Pacific Ocean.

To the east, beyond the mountains, there is a vast dry region. This dry land extends from Canada to Mexico. But still farther east, in the South eastern United States, warm, moist air blows inland from the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. This air brings plenty of rain to the South eastern States. The Northern States east of the Mississippi also receive ample moisture.

***