rain shadows
Mountain-blocked precipitation zones
A rain shadow is a dry area on the leeward side of a mountain range.
When moist air rises over mountains, it cools and drops precipitation on the windward slopes.
By the time the air descends the other side, it has lost most of its moisture, creating arid conditions: Death Valley lies in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada.
- dryFree from moisture
- bone dryTotally devoid of moisture
- mountain rangesExtended series of peaks
- droughtProlonged water scarcity
- leewardSheltered from wind
windward · moisture barrier · elevation · microclimates · high desert · clouds · topography · desert · Great Basin · Patagonia · climatology · chaparral · heat · air masses · aridity · arid climate · rainshadow · condensation
- dryland sciencedesertification, arid zones, water scarcity, desert climate, evaporation
- water cyclewater cycle, precipitation, evaporation, condensation, transpiration
rain shadowsmonsoon regions
Zones with seasonal heavy rainfall
rainforests · humid climates · temperate rainforests · cloud forests · wetlands
rain shadowsrainforests
Wet, dense tropical woodlands
temperate rainforests · cloud forests · humid regions · lush valleys · wetlands
rain, shadow, rains, rained, raining, rainy, rainiest, shadows, shadowed