rain shadow
Moist air loses much of its water on the windward slope. This topic is part of Climate within Science & Nature. This page currently draws on 4 supporting questions, with answers and bonus facts available below.
rain shadow trivia questions
A rain shadow is a dry area on which side of a mountain range?
Answer: Leeward side
Bonus fact: Moist air loses much of its water on the windward slope.
Why does air become drier after crossing a mountain?
Answer: It descends and warms
Bonus fact: Descending air warms and its relative humidity falls.
Which process causes rising moist air on a mountain's windward side to cool?
Answer: Expansion
Bonus fact: Lower pressure at altitude lets air expand and cool.
Which U.S. desert is the country's only 'cold' desert, where most precipitation falls as snow?
Answer: Great Basin Desert
Bonus fact: NPS says the Great Basin Desert exists in part because of the Sierra Nevada rain-shadow effect.