For the Australian television series see Rain Shadow (TV series). For the Australian Gothic Metal band, see Rainshadow. Rain Shadow is an Australian television drama series which first screened on 7 October 2007 on the ABC. It airs on Sundays at 8. ... Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is the sixth-largest country in the world, the only country to occupy an entire continent, and the largest in the region of Australasia/Oceania. ... Gothic metal is a genre of heavy metal music. ...

A rain shadow or rainshadow, or more accurately, precipitation shadow, is a dry region of land that is leeward of or behind a mountain, with respect to prevailing wind direction. Leeward is the side of a boat away from the direction where the wind is coming (i. ... For other uses, see Mountain (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Wind (disambiguation). ...

Description

A rain shadow is usually caused by a mountain range, but can be caused by other things as well, although to a much less degree.^[clarify] For exotic financial options, see Mountain range (options). ...

A rainshadow is warm and dry because as moist air masses rise to the top of a mountain range or large mountain, the air cools and the moisture content decreases until it reaches the dew point, the point at which the water vapor condenses as rain, and then falls either on the windward side or atop the mountain. This is called orographic lift precipitation. The effect of this phenomenon is the creation of an arid region on the leeward side of the mountains. Also, the warm air absorbs moisture from the already dry and warm air (see Foehn winds). The land gets little precipitation because all the moisture is lost on the mountains. Furthermore, the warm air absorbs moisture from the already dry land.^[1] Moisture content (MC) is a term used in a wide range of scientific and technical areas to express the quantity of water that a material contains. ... The dew point (or dewpoint) is the temperature which a given parcel of air must be cooled, at constant barometric pressure, for water vapor to condense into water. ... Water vapor or water vapour (see spelling differences), also aqueous vapor, is the gas phase of water. ... This article is about precipitation. ... Windward is the side of a boat into which the wind is blowing. ... This wave cloud pattern formed off of the ÃŽle Amsterdam in the far southern Indian Ocean, due to orographic lift of an airmass by the island, producing alternating bands of condensed and invisible humidity downwind of the island as the moist air moves in vertical waves and the moisture successively... In general terms, the climate of a locale or region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. ... A foehn wind occurs when a deep layer of prevailing wind is forced over a mountain range. ...

Regions of notable rain shadow

There are regular patterns of prevailing winds found in bands round the Earth's equatorial region. The zone designated the trade winds is the zone between about 30° N. and 30° S., blowing predominantly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisphere. The westerlies are the prevailing winds in the middle latitudes between 30 and 60 degrees latitude, blowing predominantly from the southwest in the Northern Hemisphere and from the northwest in the Southern Hemisphere. The strongest westerly winds in the middle latitudes can come in the Roaring Forties between 40 and 50 degrees latitude.^{[citation needed]} The prevailing winds are the trends in speed and direction of wind over a particular point on the earths surface. ... World map showing the equator in red In tourist areas, the equator is often marked on the sides of roads The equator marked as it crosses Ilhéu das Rolas, in São Tomé and Príncipe. ... The trade winds are a pattern of wind found in bands around Earths equatorial region. ... Northern hemisphere highlighted in yellow. ... southern hemisphere highlighted in yellow (Antarctica not depicted). ... The Westerlies are the prevailing winds in the middle latitudes between 30 and 60 degrees latitude, blowing from the high pressure area in the horse latitudes towards the poles. ... The middle latitudes are the areas between 30 and 60 degrees north latitude and 30 and 60 degrees south, or, roughly, the earths temperate zones between the tropics and the Arctic and Antarctic. ... This article is about the geographical term. ... The Roaring Forties is a name given, especially by sailors, to the latitudes between 40° and 50°, so called because of the boisterous and prevailing westerly winds. ...

Examples of notable rain shadowing include:

Asia

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• The peaks of the Caucasus Mountains to the west, the Alborz mountains to the south and the ranges tied to the Himalaya to the east rain shadow the Karakum and Kyzyl Kum deserts east of the Caspian Sea.
• The Dasht-i-Lut in Iran is in the rain shadow of the Elburz and Zagros Mountains and is one of the most lifeless areas on Earth.
• The Himalaya and connecting ranges also contribute to arid conditions in Central Asia including Mongolia's Gobi desert and China's Taklamakan Desert.
• The Ordos Desert is rain shadowed by mountain chains including the Kara-naryn-ula, the Sheitenula, and the In Shan mountains, which link on to the south end of the Great Khingan Mountains.
• The Great Indian Desert or Thar desert is bounded and rain shadowed by the Aravalli ranges to the south-east, the Himalaya to the northeast, and the Kirthar and Sulaiman ranges to the west.
• Eastern Side of Sahyadri ranges on Deccan Plateau of India.

Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Prose is writing distinguished from poetry by its greater variety of rhythm and its closer resemblance to everyday speech. ... The Caucasus Mountains are a mountain system between the Black and Caspian seas in the Caucasus region, usually considered the southeastern limit of Europe. ... Alborz Mountains Mount Damavand, Irans tallest mountain is located in Alborz mountain range. ... Perspective view of the Himalaya and Mount Everest as seen from space looking south-south-east from over the Tibetan Plateau. ... For the desert in Kazakhstan, see Aral Karakum. ... The Kyzyl Kum (Uzbek: red sand; also called Qyzylqum) is a desert in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. ... The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the worlds largest lake or a full-fledged sea. ... As seen from space Dasht-e Lut, also spelled Dasht-i-Lut, is a large salt desert in southeastern Iran. ... Alborz Mountains underneath clouds seen from Tehran View of the Alborz range from near Tehran. ... The Zagros Mountains (Kurdish: زنجیره‌ چیاکانی زاگروس), make up Irans and Iraqs largest mountain range. ... Map of Central Asia showing three sets of possible boundaries for the region Central Asia located as a region of the world Central Asia is a vast landlocked region of Asia. ... The Gobi is a large desert region in northern China and southern Mongolia. ... Dust storm in Taklamakan Desert from space, June 25, 2005 The Taklamakan Desert (also Taklimakan) is a desert of Central Asia, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... Ordos Desert 1912 The Ordos Desert (Chinese: 鄂尔多斯沙漠; Pinyin: Èěrduōsī Shāmò) is a desert and steppe region lying on a plateau in the south of the Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region of the Peoples Republic of China. ... The Greater Khingan Range (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: pinyin: Dáxīngānlǐng; Manchu: Amba Hinggan), also called the Greater Hingan Range or Greater Hinggan Range, is a volcanic mountain range in Inner Mongolia in northeastern China. ... A NASA satellite image of the Thar Desert, with the India-Pakistan border superimposed . ... The Aravalli Range is a range of mountains in western India running approximately 300 miles northeast-southwest across Rajasthan state. ... The Western Ghats or Sahyadri mountains run along the western edge of Indias Deccan Plateau, and separate the plateau from a narrow coastal plain along the Arabian Sea. ... The Deccan Plateau is a vast plateau in India, encompassing most of Central and Southern India. ...

South America

• Peru is the driest desert on Earth because it is blocked from moisture on both sides (by the Andes mountains to the east and high pressure over the Pacific at a latitude which keeps moisture from coming in from the west).
• Patagonia is rain shadowed from the prevailing westerly winds by the Andes range and is arid (e.g., in Santa Cruz few spots are capable of cultivation, the pastures being poor, water insufficient and salt lagoons fairly numerous).

See also architecture with non-sequential dynamic execution scheduling (ANDES). ... Pacific redirects here. ... Patagonia, as most commonly defined (in orange). ... This article is about the mountain system in South America. ...

North America

To meet Wikipedia's quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup because it is in a list format that may be better presented using prose. You can help by converting this section to prose, if appropriate. Editing help is available. (September 2007)

Most rainshadows in the western United States are due to mountain ranges, notably the Sierra Nevada and Cascades,^[2] that intercept rain and snowfall that would otherwise reach a valley in the lee of the mid-latitude prevailing westerlies. Image File history File links Broom_icon. ... Prose is writing distinguished from poetry by its greater variety of rhythm and its closer resemblance to everyday speech. ... This article is about the mountain range in the Western United States. ... Mount Adams in Washington state The Cascade Range is a mountainous region famous for its chain of tall volcanos called the High Cascades that run north-south along the west coast of North America from British Columbia to the Shasta Cascade area of northern California. ...

• The deserts of the Basin and Range Province in the United States and Mexico, which includes the dry areas east of the Cascade Mountains of Oregon and Washington and the Great Basin, which covers almost all of Nevada and parts of Utah are rain shadowed.
• The Mojave, Black Rock, Sonoran, and Chihuahuan deserts all are in regions which are rain shadowed.
• The aptly-named Death Valley in the United States is another good example; it is behind both the Pacific Coast Ranges of California and the Sierra Nevada range, and is one of the driest places on the planet.
• The Colorado Front Range is limited to the rainfall that makes it over the continental divide. While many places west of the divide receive as much as 40 inches (1,000 mm) of precipitation throughout the year, some places on the east side, notably Evergreen, Colorado and Denver, Colorado only receive about 17-19 inches. Thus, the continental divide acts as a barrier for the precipitation. This effect only applies to west to east storms. When low pressure areas skirt the Rocky Mountains to the south, they can give high precipitation to the east side and none to the west side. This only happens on somewhat rare occasions.
• The east slopes of the Coast Ranges in central and southern California also cut off the southern San Joaquin Valley from enough precipitation to ensure desert-like conditions in areas around Bakersfield.
• The eastern side of the Coast Mountains and the Cascade Range in the province of British Columbia, Canada is a rain shadow. The Okanagan Valley which sits in this rain shadow is home to Osoyoos, Canada's only hot desert.
• The Dungeness Valley around Sequim, Washington lies in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains. The area averages 10-15 inches of rain per year, less than half of the amount received in nearby Port Angeles and approximately 10% of that which falls in Forks on the western side of the mountains.
• The effect appears even in the eastern United States. Although much more humid than any obvious deserts or steppes, the Shenandoah Valley mostly in western Virginia, lying between the Blue Ridge and the Appalachian Mountains, is drier than areas to the east and west because the modest mountains reduce rainfall within the valley. The lesser rainfall than that of surrounding areas makes this long valley paradoxically a richer agricultural area than rainier areas nearby. [1][2]

This article is about arid terrain. ... Full extent of the Basin and Range The Basin and Range Province is a particular type of topography that covers much of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico that is typified by elongate north-south trending arid valleys bounded by mountain ranges which also bound adjacent valleys. ... “Cascades” redirects here. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... This article deals with the U.S. state. ... Drainage map showing the Great Basin in orange Various Definitions of the Great Basin (NPS) Wheeler Peak in Great Basin National Park, Nevada. ... This article is about the U.S. State of Nevada. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... For the indigenous American tribe, see Mohave. ... The Black Rock Desert is a dry lake bed in northwestern Nevada in the United States. ... Map of the Mojave and Sonoran deserts. ... Map of the Chihuahuan Desert. ... For other uses, see Death Valley (disambiguation). ... The Pacific Coast Ranges are the series of mountain ranges that stretch along the west coast of North America from Alaska to northern and central Mexico. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... This article is about the mountain range in the Western United States. ... This article is about the astronomical term. ... The Colorado Front Range is a colloquial geographic term for the populated areas of the state of Colorado in the United States which are just east of the foothills of the Front Range, from which the region takes its name. ... A continental divide is a line of elevated terrain which forms a border between two watersheds such that water falling on one side of the line eventually travels to one ocean or body of water, and water on the other side travels to another, generally on the opposite side of... Coordinates: , Settled 1859 Area  - Unincorporated Town 30. ... Nickname: Location of Denver in the State of Colorado Location of Colorado in the United States Coordinates: , Country United States State State of Colorado City and County Denver[1] Founded 1858-11-22, as Denver City, K.T.[2] Incorporated 1861-11-07, as Denver City, C.T.[3] Consolidated... A continental divide is a line of elevated terrain which forms a border between two watersheds such that water falling on one side of the line eventually travels to one ocean or body of water, and water on the other side travels to another, generally on the opposite side of... For individual mountains named Rocky Mountain, see Rocky Mountain (disambiguation). ... The Central Valley of California The San Joaquin Valley (English pronunciation in IPA: [sæn wɑˈkin]) refers to the area of the Central Valley of California that lies south of the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta in Stockton. ... Bakersfield redirects here. ... The Coast Mountains are the westernmost range of the Pacific Cordillera, running along the south western shore of the North American continent, extending south from the Alaska Panhandle and covering most of coastal British Columbia. ... “Cascades” redirects here. ... Motto: Splendor sine occasu (Latin: Splendour without diminishment) Capital Victoria Largest city Vancouver Official languages English (de facto) Government Lieutenant-Governor Steven Point Premier Gordon Campbell (BC Liberal) Federal representation in Canadian Parliament House seats 36 Senate seats 6 Confederation July 20, 1871 (6th province) Area  Ranked 5th Total 944... The regional districts that comprise the Okanagan are shown in red. ... Sequim is a city located in Clallam County, Washington. ... For the capital city of the United States, see Washington, D.C.. For other uses, see Washington (disambiguation). ... The Olympic Mountains The Olympic Mountains are a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of western Washington in the United States. ... Port Angeles is a city located in Clallam County, Washington. ... Forks is a city in Clallam County, Washington, United States. ... Canoeing on the Shenandoah River near Winchester, VA. The Shenandoah Valley region of western Virginia, from Winchester to Staunton, is bounded by the Blue Ridge mountains to the East and the Allegheny mountains to the West. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Blue Ridge Mountains, Shining Rock Wilderness Area Appalachian Mountain system The Blue Ridge is a mountain chain in the eastern United States, part of the Appalachian Mountains, forming their eastern front from Georgia to Pennsylvania. ... The Appalachian Mountains are a vast system of mountains in eastern North America. ...

Europe

• The Cantabrian Mountains make a sharp divide between "Green Spain" to the north and the dry central plateau. The northern-facing slopes receive heavy rainfall from the Bay of Biscay, but the southern slopes are in rain shadow. The most evident effect on the Iberian Peninsula occurs in the Almería, Murcia and Alicante areas, each with an average rainfall of 300 mm. and the dryest spot in Europe (see Cabo de Gata) mostly due to the mountainous range running through their western side which blocks the westerlies.
• Some valleys in the inner Alps are also strongly rainshadowed by the high surrounding mountains.
• Athens is shielded strongly by mountains from the strong moisture-bearing winds of the Adriatic Sea and receives only a quarter the rainfall of most of Albania.
• Skjåk, a municipality in Norway, lies in a deep valley and is rain shadowed such that it sees less annual precipitation than the Sahara desert.

The red line shows where the Cantabrian Mountains are located in the North of Spain Pico Tres Mares, 2,150 m Cantabrian Mountains (Cordillera Cantábrica in Spanish) is a mountain chain which extends for more than approximately 180 miles (300 km) across northern Spain, from the western limit of... Green Spain is the name given to the strip of land between the Cantabrian Sea and the Cantabrian and Basque mountains in northern Spain. ... Map of the Bay of Biscay. ... Almería province Almería is a province of southern Spain, in the eastern part of the autonomous community of Andalusia. ... Capital Murcia Area  â€“ Total  â€“ % of Spain Ranked 9th  11 313 km²  2,2% Population  â€“ Total (2003)  â€“ % of Spain  â€“ Density Ranked 10th  1 226 993  2,9%  108,46/km² Demonym  â€“ English  â€“ Spanish  Murcian  murciano/a Statute of Autonomy June 9, 1982 ISO 3166-2 MU Parliamentary representation  â€“ Congress seats  â€“ Senate... Location of Alicante province in Spain, in a deeper red shade within the Valencian Community. ... Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park is a nature reserve near Almería, Spain. ... Alp redirects here. ... This article is about the capital of Greece. ... A satellite image of the Adriatic Sea. ... County Oppland Landscape Gudbrandsdalen Municipality NO-0513 Administrative centre Bismo Mayor (2005) Ola StensgÃ¥rd (Sp) Official language form Nynorsk Area  - Total  - Land  - Percentage Ranked 27 2,076 km² 1,969 km² 0. ... Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties (fylker, singular - fylke), and 431 municipalities/communes (kommuner). ...

Africa

• The windward side of the island of Madagascar, which sees easterly on-shore winds, is wet tropical, while the western and southern sides of the island lie in the rain shadow of the central highlands and are home to thorn forests and deserts.

• The formation of the Atlas Mountains has been deemed at least partially responsible for the climatic change which eventually created the Sahara. There is a strong rain shadow effect to the south side of the mountains.

Map showing the location of the Atlas Mountains (colored red) across North Africa The Atlas Mountains (Arabic: ‎) are a mountain range in northwest Africa extending about 2,400 km (1,500 miles) through Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia, and including The Rock of Gibraltar. ...

Oceania

• New Caledonia lies astride the Tropic of Capricorn, between 19° and 23° south latitude. The climate of the islands is tropical, and rainfall is brought by trade winds from the east. The western side of the Grande Terre lies in the rain shadow of the central mountains, and rainfall averages are significantly lower.
• Hawaii also has rain shadows, with some areas of the islands being desert, much to the surprise of many tourists. Orographic lifting produces the world's highest annual percipitation record, 12.7 meters (500 inches), on the island of Kauai; the leeward side is understandably rain shadowed^[1]. The entire island of Kahoolawe lies in the rain shadow of Maui's East Maui Volcano.
• New Zealand boasts one of the most remarkable rain shadows anywhere on Earth. On the South Island, the Southern Alps intercept moisture coming off the Tasman Sea. The mountain range is home to significant glaciers and 250 to 350 inches (8,900 mm) liquid water equivalent per year. To the east and down slope of the Southern Alps, scarcely 30 miles (48 km) from the snowy peaks, yearly rainfall drops to less than 30 inches (760 mm) and some areas less than 15.
• In Tasmania, one of the states of Australia, the central Midlands region is in a strong rain shadow and receives only about a fifth as much rainfall as the highlands to the west.
• In New South Wales and Victoria (both states of Australia), the Monaro is shielded by both the Snowy Mountains to the northwest and coastal ranges to the southeast. Consequently, parts of it are as dry as the wheat-growing lands of those states.

World map showing the Tropic of Capricorn For the novel by Henry Miller, see Tropic of Capricorn (novel). ... The tropics are the geographic region of the Earth centered on the equator and limited in latitude by the two tropics: the Tropic of Cancer in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... A tourist boat travels the River Seine in Paris, France Tourism can be defined as the act of travel for the purpose of recreation, and the provision of services for this act. ... Kauai (Hawaiian IPA pron. ... Kaho‘olawe is the smallest of the 8 main volcanic islands in the Hawaiian Islands. ... Slogan or Nickname: Island of Inspiration; The Apple Isle; Holiday Isle Motto(s): Ubertas et Fidelitas (Fertility and Faithfulness) Other Australian states and territories Capital Hobart Government Constitutional monarchy Governor William Cox Premier Paul Lennon (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 5  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product... NSW redirects here. ... VIC redirects here. ... Monaro region: between Adaminaby and Cooma Monaro (pronounced mon-air-ro) is the name of a region in the south of New South Wales, Australia. ...

See also

• Foehn wind

A foehn wind occurs when a deep layer of prevailing wind is forced over a mountain range. ...

References

USA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar. ... February 29 is a day added into a leap year of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• USA Today on rain shadows
• Weather pages on rain shadows