Introduction
San Francisco’s region has a Mediterranean type of a climate and is characterized by moderate temperature which rarely ranges between the high of 35 degrees and the low of 10 degrees. With this ideal type of climate sometimes it is called, “the-conditioned city”. The weather in the region is mostly influenced by cool current coming from the Pacific Ocean. The cool current from the Pacific Ocean always regulate the temperature in the area, and thus produces a mild climate which is associated with Mediterranean type of climate and has little seasonal temperature difference.
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“Half the western side of the San Francisco in spring seasons and early summer is covered by fog. This is brought about by the meeting of the cold current from the Pacific Ocean and the warm current coming from the mainland California, but the fog is less experience in the eastern part of San Francisco. During fall seasons and late summer seasons, these are the hottest months of the year” (Peevers 42).
As a result of different topology in San Francisco, the climate in this area exhibits different distinct micro-climate changes. The mountainous sides of San Francisco are normally found in the middle of the region and account for the difference in rainfall every year between various parts of the city. this variances in temperature protects the eastern part of the city from fog and cool conditions which is usually experienced in the Sunset District.
Even though the temperature is almost the same throughout the year, there is two defined seasons i.e. dry and wet. Most of the rain usually bound between the month of November and March and in summer it mostly covered by fogs as results of cool ocean current backing on the hills.
“This area is sometimes called the ‘biome region’ which has characteristics of a desert conditions. Most of the plant which are found in this region are less than one meter in height and mostly consist of shrubs, having these characteristics similar to those in the desert; the plants have a way of adapting during the dry hot seasons. But many of these plants are ‘yearly’, i.e. they flower at a time when there is plenty of water and during dry seasons they exist in term of seeds. These plants are characterized by having small leaves to prevent them from loosing water during dry seasons and their leave are always evergreen. Lastly they curled with their stomata below the leaf” (Peevers 65).
The region of Salt Lake City in Utah is a semi-arid region and is found in the Salt: Lake Valley. This region is surrounded by mountains and receives little rain as a result of this barrier. Salt Lake region has four defined seasons. These seasons are; cold season, snow winter season, a hot & dry summer season and wet season.
The region is near Pacific Ocean which influences the climate of the place. Storms are mostly experienced from the month of October to May and it only receives rain during spring seasons. In winters the region experiences snow falls, as a result of effect from the Great Salt Lake. The summers are hot and wet; sometimes the temperature reaches 38 degrees Celsius. Due to monsoon winds from the Gulf of California, it experiences precipitation. “Winter is usually cold and snowy but when we compare to other places in the united state, their winter in this region is warmer at this latitude. This is as a result of the effect of rocky mountains that prevent the cold current from affecting this region, this cold temperature will never fall below zero degrees” (Zeeya 25).
Conclusion
Most of the trees in the region are ephemerals i.e. they have a shorter life cycle. These trees sprout only during wet season at this time when there is plenty of water to enable them to grow but in hot seasons the availability of water is scarce, the plants exist in form of seeds. These types of trees are smaller in size, their roots are shallow and adaptation is dependant on their quick growth. These trees sometimes form a dense type of stand. “Ephemeral annuals are types of trees which stores water during the raining seasons and during dry season they use the water which they have accumulated. This kind of trees have low rate of transpiration during the dry seasons, an example of this kind of tree is cacti” (Zeeya 65).
Works Cited
Peevers, Schulte. Lonely planet california.Califonia: Lonely Planet, 2003. Print.
Zeeya, Strahler. Visualizing physical geography. London: Wiley & Sons, 2007. Print.