Climate Regions

Desert

Arid regions that get less than 25 cm of rain yearly

Rain forest

Forests with dense vegetation, year round heat and heavy rainfall.

steppe

Large semiarid areas usually located on the edges of deserts. It is dry but usually gets enough rainfall for short grasses and low bushes

Permafrost

Permanently frozen tundra soil

Tundra

The climate region north of the subartic. It stretches across northern Alaska, Canada and Russia.

Polar

The coldest climate region, includes the tundra and the arctic and antarctic ice cap climates

Humid subtropical

The warmest temperate marine climates along the edges of the tropics. Wet and warm but not as hot as the tropics.

Highlands

These climate regions are colder than the regions that surround them because temperature falls as altitude increases.

Savanna

Tropical grassland with distinct dry and rainy seasons

subartic

climate that lies north of the humid sub tropical climate. Winters can be very cold.

semi-arid

climate that receives less than 20 inches of rainfall each year. The Outback of Australia has this type of climate

arid

extremely dry area of land