In the winter the Chaparral climate, also known as the Mediterranean climate, is mild and moist, but not rainy. During the summer it is very hot and dry. The temperature is usually mild but it can get very hot or nearly freezing. The temperature range is between 30° and 100° F.
This biome only gets about 10-17 inches of rain all year, and most of it comes in the winter. Because of the long period of dryness in the summer, only plants with hard leaves can survive, such as scrub oaks, chamiso shrubs, pines, cork and olive trees. Many leaves are also hairy so they can collect the moisture out of the air and use it.
There are many fires in the chaparral because of the heat and dryness. Some plants have adapted even to the fires. Their seeds will lie dormant until there is a fire. Their seed casings will crack and the seed will sprout only then.
Chaparrals exist in a mid-latitude climate and lie in a belt of prevailing westerly winds. This is why chaparrals tend to be on the west sides of continents. It is classified under Köppen's climate classification system as Cs. The C stands for warm temperature climates, where the average temperature of the coldest months is 64° F. The s stands for a dry season in the summer of the hemisphere it is in.
Chaparrals can be found from 30° to 50° N and 30° to 40° S latitudes. The chaparral climate occurs in central and southern coast of California; the coast areas of the Mediterranean Sea; coastal western and southern Australia; the Chilean coast in South America, and the Cape Town region of South Africa.
This biome only gets about 10-17 inches of rain all year, and most of it comes in the winter. Because of the long period of dryness in the summer, only plants with hard leaves can survive, such as scrub oaks, chamiso shrubs, pines, cork and olive trees. Many leaves are also hairy so they can collect the moisture out of the air and use it.
There are many fires in the chaparral because of the heat and dryness. Some plants have adapted even to the fires. Their seeds will lie dormant until there is a fire. Their seed casings will crack and the seed will sprout only then.
Chaparrals exist in a mid-latitude climate and lie in a belt of prevailing westerly winds. This is why chaparrals tend to be on the west sides of continents. It is classified under Köppen's climate classification system as Cs. The C stands for warm temperature climates, where the average temperature of the coldest months is 64° F. The s stands for a dry season in the summer of the hemisphere it is in.
Chaparrals can be found from 30° to 50° N and 30° to 40° S latitudes. The chaparral climate occurs in central and southern coast of California; the coast areas of the Mediterranean Sea; coastal western and southern Australia; the Chilean coast in South America, and the Cape Town region of South Africa.