B. TheMojave Desert: The Mojave Desert is a somewhat 

 higher desert than the Colorado Desert and is broken up by a 

 number of small mountain ranges. This desert extends into 

 adjacent Nevada. It is rather poorly drained, and as a conse- 

 quence there are numerous periodically inundated low areas 

 that are now highly saUne because of the influx of water dur- 

 ing very wet years followed by evaporation of their contents 

 in subsequent years. 



8. Great Basin and related areas: North of the Mojave Desert 

 and east of the Sierra Nevada are occasional valleys or upland 

 areas that are basically the westernmost reaches of the Great 

 Basin, which is a large, relatively high area that lies between the 

 Sierra Nevada (and Cascades) and the Rocky Mountains and has 

 its center in Nevada. To the north, in northeastern California, 

 the Modoc Plateau is an area in which there are extensive areas 

 covered by lava. 



Climate of California 



The climate of California is strongly influenced by the physio- 

 graphy of the state. Botanically, climate may be defined as the 

 sum total of atmospheric conditions that influence the growth 

 and reproduction of plants. In much of the United States, the 

 latitude approximately fixes the regional climate. While this may 

 be true in a general sense for California, the tremendous varia- 

 tion in topography exerts an influence which is equal to, if not 

 more important than, the latitude. In California, the major 

 factors determining the climate are the Pacific Ocean and the 

 presence of mountainous masses of land. 



Much of CaUfornia has a maritime climate ; this is in contrast 

 with the continental climate of montane or inland areas. The 

 following shows the extremes between these two climatic regimes: 



MARITIME CLIMATE CONTINENTAL CLIMATE 



Coastal location Inland location 



Winters warm Winters cold 



Summers cool Summers hot 



Small daily temperature range Large daily temperature range 

 Small seasonal temperature range Large seasonal temperature range 



High relative humidities Low relative humidities 



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