Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Before getting down to the nitty-gritty of classifying climates, we must keep in mind a com-
mon thread among climates. Each climate type has an associated assemblage of
natural veget-
ation
that is likely to occur provided human beings and natural catastrophes do not interfere.
Thus, if one could journey overland from the equator to the North Pole, different natural ve-
getation assemblages would be encountered with every change in climate. This is illustrated
in Figure 10-1. In reality, of course, people have modified or eliminated natural vegetation in
many areas, as by converting grasslands and rainforests to farms. When one visits a particular
climatic realm, therefore, purely natural vegetation may or may not dominate the landscape,
or be present at all. In any event, the climate-natural vegetation connection is so strong that
some climates are named for the plant cover that is associated with them (including the trop-
ical rainforest, steppe, and tundra.)
Figure 10-1:
The
hypothetical se-
quence of natural
vegetation in the
Northern Hemi-
sphere.
In general terms, the world's climates may be grouped into five classes. They are humid tropical cli-
mates, dry climates, humid mesothermal climates, humid microthermal climates, and polar climates.
Each is discussed in the following sections.
Mixing Sun and Rain: Humid Tropical Climates
