Unit 10:

INDEX

1. CLIMATE AND ITS FACTORS

1.1. Characteristics of climate

1.2. Factors of climate in Spain

2. RIVERS

2.1. The characteristics of a river

 

1.  CLIMATES AND ITS FACTORS

 

1.1. CHARACTERISTICS OF CLIMATE

Climate is the atmospheric weather of an area over a period of several years.

Climates are different depending on their temperature and precipitation.Weather stations record different data when studying the climate of an area:

§  Temperature.It is measured with a thermometer in degrees Celtius.To know the climate of an area, we need the average annual temperature, the maximum and minimum temperatures and temperature differences between night and day.

§  Precipitation.It´s measured with a pluviometer in litres of water per square meter(l/m2).To know the climate of an area, we need the annual precipitation and how it falls throughout the season.

 

1.2. FACTORS OF CLIMATE IN SPAIN

The climate in the territory of Spain is affected by:

§  It´s position; the territory of Spain extends over various latitudes.Latitude it´s the distance between a point on the Earth and the equator.

§  It´s relief; creates different altitudres.Temperature are lower in the mountains than in the plains.

§  The distance from the sea makes a greater difference in temperatures between winter and summer or night aand day in inland areas than in areas on the coast.

2. RIVERS

2.1. THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A RIVER

Rivers are continuous currents of water that flow into the sea,another river or a lake.Rivers have different characteristics:

§  Course.This is the path of a river.It´s channel es the terrain it flows through.

§  Water flow.It´s the amount of water that the river carries.A flow regime is the change in a river´s water flow during a year.Most Spanish rivers have an irregular water flow because their flow decreases during the summer.This period of less water flow is called low water level.

§  Watershed.This is the area of land through which rivers flow into the same sea.Spanish rivers belong to three watersheds:the Cantabrian watershed,the Atlantic watershed and the Mediterranean watershed.