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The Transverse Ranges are another major Southern California mountain system primarily in the Mediterranean climate zone. Large earthquakes can do considerable damage to populated areas, and to the state's water, transportation, and energy infrastructure. The Central Valley of California is a significant feature of Mediterranean climate ...
The climate of California varies widely from hot desert to alpine tundra, depending on latitude, elevation, and proximity to the Pacific Coast. California 's coastal regions, the Sierra Nevada foothills, and much of the Central Valley have a Mediterranean climate , with warmer, drier weather in summer and cooler, wetter weather in winter.
Under both classifications, at least one month must average below 18 °C (64.4 °F) or the climate is considered tropical. Leslie Holdridge defined the subtropical climates as having a mean annual biotemperature between the frost line or critical temperature line, 16 °C to 18 °C (depending on locations in the world) and 24 °C. [1]
Map of California topography and geomorphic provinces California's major mountain ranges. California is a U.S. state on the western coast of North America.Covering an area of 163,696 sq mi (423,970 km 2), California is among the most geographically diverse states.
The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones immediately to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from 23°26′09.7″ (or 23.43603°) to approximately 35° to 40° north and south. [ 1 ]
The California chaparral and woodlands is a terrestrial ecoregion of southwestern Oregon, northern, central, and southern California (United States) and northwestern Baja California , located on the west coast of North America. It is an ecoregion of the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome, and part of the Nearctic realm.
Today, the most commonly used climate map is the Köppen climate classification, developed by Russian climatologist of German descent and amateur botanist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940), which divides the world into five major climate regions, based on average annual precipitation, average monthly precipitation, and average monthly temperature.
The Sierra Nevada are home to half of the vascular plant species of California, with 400 species that are endemic to the region. [16] Like many mountain ranges, the plant communities of the Sierra group into biotic zones by altitude, because of the increasingly harsh climate as elevation increases. [19]