Why Does One Side Of A Mountain Range Sometimes Have

Why does one side of a mountain range sometimes have significantly less precipitation than the other side.

• Its called orographic • The word “oro-” refers to mountain • The clouds gave too much moisture and too heavy to rise up over the mountain range. They drop the rain and then they are able to rise up and travel over the mountain. •

• A moist air mass moves in from the sea. As it approaches the mountain range it gets pushed upward. The air mass cools as it rises. The amount of water it can hold decreases, and clouds start to form. By the time the air mass has been pushed all the way up the side of the mountain, water is actively leaving the air as precipitation. The temperature below which precipitation starts to fall is known as the dew point.

• When the air mass reaches the other side of the mountain, it has effectively been dried out. The zone next to a mountain range that receives little rainfall is called a rain shadow. •

• These are the reasons….. • Thanks for listening and watching,