Vegetation

4 General Patterns of Vegetation

ForestsGrasslandsXerophyticMoss and Lichen

1. The latitudes 10° north and south of the Equator are mostly covered in tropical rainforest

Runs in a belt around the equator where the weather is warm and wet

Contains half the known total species of plants and animals in the world

Amazon Jungle in Brazil, parts of southeast asia and central africa

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees

Monsoon Forests

- between 10° and 20°N latitude and between 10° and 20°S latitude.

- In the dry season, trees lose their leaves

- also known as tropical dry forest

Boreal or Coniferous Forests

- characterized by coniferous forests consisting mostly of pines, spruces and larches.

- Makes up the biggest forest in the world

- In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States

- In Eurasia, it covers most of Sweden, Finland, much of Norway, some lowland/coastal areas of Iceland, much of Russia to the Pacific Ocean (including much of Siberia), and areas of northern Kazakhstan, northern Mongolia, and northern Japan (on the island of Hokkaidō).

Deciduous or Temperate Forests

Leaves of trees change colors in autumn, lose their leaves in winter and grow back in spring

eastern North America, eastern Asia and Europe.

Form where the climate is too dry for forests to thrive but there is enough rain to prevent the land from turning into a desert

Are found in every continent except Antarctica◦ Prairies in North America◦ Pampas in Argentina◦ Veldt in South Africa◦ Steppes in Russia

Grasslands

Short grass which becomes sparser characterized by grassland plains without

trees Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Russia,

Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan Another large steppe area (prairie) is

located in the central United States and western Canada.

Steppes

Grasslands in the tropics Characterized by tall grass Central and East Africa- The Serengeti

Plains of Tanzania, The Llanos of the Orinoco basin of Venezuela, Northern Australia

Savannah

Vegetation that adopt to drought Found in arid regions Saguaro Desert in Arizona

Xerophytic

Found in the tundra climactic zone North of North America

Moss and Lichen

Landforms

a dune is a hill of sand built either by wind or water flow.

Erg Chebbi in Morocco

Merrick’s Butte in Monument Valley, Arizona, USA

A butte /bjuːt/ is a conspicuous isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top

The Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA

A Canyon is most often carved from the landscape by the erosive activity of a river

Dominica Cave, Mexico

Caves form naturally by the weathering of rock

and often extend deep underground.

Mountain - is a large landform that stretches above the surrounding land in a limited area, usually in the form of a peak. They are formed through tectonic forces

MT. EVEREST

The Matterhorn - Switzerland

a fjord (/ˈfjɔərd/ or Listeni/ˈfiːɔərd/; also spelled fiord) is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides or cliffs, created by glacial erosion.

Glaciers form only on land. It is a slowly moving mass or river of ice formed by the accumulation and compaction of snow on mountains or near the poles.

Baltoro Glacier in Northern Pakistan

Plateau also called a high plain or tableland, is an area of highland, usually consisting of relatively flat terrain.

Island in the Sky, Canyonland National Park, Northern Utah, USA

a cliff is a vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure.

Cliffs of Moher in Ireland

A geyser (US /ˈɡaɪzər/; UK /ˈɡiːzə/[1]) is a spring characterized by intermittent discharge of water ejected turbulently and accompanied by a vapour phase (steam).

Geyser Andernach in Germany, the tallest cold water geyser

Strokkur in Iceland

A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in the surface or crust of the Earth which allows hot lava, volcanic ash and gases to escape from the magma chamber below the surface.

Stromboli near Sicily, Italy

A lake is a body of relatively still water of considerable size that is surrounded by land

Lake Tahoe in Nevada , USA

A Rapid is a fast-flowing and turbulent part of the course of a river.

A river is a natural watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, a lake, a sea, or another river

Chao Phraya River, Thailand

A waterfall is a place where water flows over a vertical drop in the course of a stream or river

Iguazu Falls between Brazil and Argentina

An isthmus (/ˈɪsθməs/ or /ˈɪsməs/; plural: isthmuses;) is a narrow strip of land connecting two larger land areas, usually with water on either side.[

Bruny Islands in Tasmania, Australia