WHAT IS CLIMATE? The climate of a place is the kind of weather which it has. If it rains much in a place we say the climate of that place is wet.
If the sun shines the most of the time and little rain falls, we say the place has a warm, dry climate. Nearly every place has a different climate. At my home it rains in the winter, and the summers are long and dry. Where you live it may snow or rain every month in the year.
Many things work together to make the climate of a place. The sun, the winds, and the clouds are all striving with each other. The weather yesterday is not like the weather to-day. Winter is not like summer, nor spring like fall.
Summer is warmer than winter, because in the summer we get more sunshine. In the south it is warm nearly all of the year. In the far north there is little sunshine and it is cold the most of the year.
You will learn in the next lesson how the climate changes as you go up the side of a mountain. On the top of the mountain it is much colder than in the valleys below. At the foot of the mountain it may be warm enough for oranges, while at the top there is snow the whole year through.
The sun warms the land quickly. The heat of the ocean changes but little from winter to summer. The winds which blow from the ocean are cool. For this reason people who live near the ocean have a pleasant summer climate.
In the summer the winds which blow over the land become warm. Upon the great plains these winds are so hot as to almost burn your face.
It generally rains more near the ocean than it does far away. Mountain ranges have more rain than lowlands for their cool tops turn the clouds into rain. A country which has a high mountain range
between it and the ocean gets very little rain. The mountain has taken the most of the moisture from the air.
A place where but little rain falls through the year is called a desert. The desert has strange look ing plants which can live a long time without water.
The climate of a place determines what kind of plants can grow there. The cliMate also affects the animals. There are some places upon the earth where people cannot live because of the bad climate.
The kind of work which people carry on is partly determined by the climate. Everywhere you go you will find people raising different kinds of products and doing different things. Oranges can grow only in a warm climate. We get apples and grain in cool climates.
In wet countries the forests are often so dense that you cannot go through them without having a path cut. In the desert there is little in sight besides sand and rocks.
The animals of the south have little fur. They are dressed by nature for the warm climate in which they live. In cold countries their fur is thick and long.
In cold climates we need meat to eat. Where it is warm fruits and vegetables are better for us. In every place people raise what will grow best in that place. The different climates give us a great variety of food.
If the climate were the same everywhere our world would not be as pleasant as it is.