Ridgecrest, California

The weather in the Indian Wells Valley (Ridgecrest, CA) is predominantly influenced by its high desert location. The climate is characterized by hot days and cool nights with extremely arid conditions prevailing throughout the summer months.

There are wide annual temperature fluctuations that occur from a high of 119 °F (48 °C) to a low of 1 °F (−17 °C).

The area is known to have wind as high 75 mph (121 km/h) on a sunny day. Whenever winds exceed 30 mph (48 km/h) dust devils and dust clouds form in the area.

Ridgecrest is a desert, with an average of less than 5 inches (130 mm) "equivalent rainfall" per year, which includes less than 2 inches (51 mm) of snow.

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov DecRec. high °F 80 86 93 101 108 117 119 114 110 105 88 84Avg high °F 59 65 72 80 88 98 104 102 95 84 68 60Avg low °F 30 36 40 46 54 61 67 66 59 49 36 29Rec. low °F 1 9 15 24 26 38 46 45 35 20 14 5

Avg precipitation in. 0.90 1.10 0.80 0.20 0.10 0.00 0.10 0.30 0.30 0.10 0.30 0.60Source: Weather.com[18]

Death Valley's great range of elevations and habitats support a variety of wildlife species, including 51 species of native mammals, 307 species of birds, 36 species of reptiles, three species of amphibians, and five species and one subspecies of native fishes. Small mammals are more numerous than large mammals, such as desert bighorn, coyote, bobcat, mountain lion, and mule deer. Mule deer are present in the pinyon/juniper associations of the Grapevine, Cottonwood, and Panamint Mountains.

More information:

http://www.nps.gov/deva/naturescience/animals.htm

Joshua Tree National Park

Located in the Mojave Desert of Southern California, the city has experienced some high temperatures. On July 17, 2005, the temperature reached a record 119 °F (48 °C). The record low temperature was 9 °F (−13 °C), established on December 23, 1990. The city is in a desert and mountain area. It has an average elevation of 1,991 feet (607 m).

The southern boundary of the Mojave Desert reaches across the northern part of the park. It is the habitat of the park’s namesake: the Joshua tree. Extensive stands of this peculiar looking plant are found in the western half of the park. Joshua Tree’s third ecosystem is located in the western most part of the park above 4,000 feet. The Little San Bernardino Mountains provide habitat for a community of California juniper and pinyon pine.

The plant diversity of these three ecosystems is matched by the animal diversity, including healthy herds of desert bighorn and six species of rattlesnakes. Joshua Tree National Park lies astride the Pacific flyway of migratory birds, and is a rest stop for many. It was for this unusual diversity of plants and animals that Joshua Tree National Monument was set aside on August 10, 1936.

More information:

http://www.nps.gov/ jotr/naturescience/ index.htmLas Vegas, Nevada

This city is located in an arid basin on the desert floor, surrounded by dry mountains to the west. Much of the landscape is rocky and dusty; the environment is dominated by desert vegetation and some wildlife, and the area is subject to torrential flash floods. However, there are water resource issues to support residential communities.

The city enjoys abundant sunshine year-round: it has an average of about 300 sunny days per year with more than 3,800 hours of sunshine.[16]

Temperatures can sometimes drop to freezing 32 °F (0 °C) but winter nighttime temperatures will rarely dip below 30 °F (−1 °C).

Climate data for Las Vegas (McCarran International Airport)Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year

Record high °F (°C) 77(25)

87(31)

92(33)

99(37)

109(43)

116(47)

117(47)

116(47)

113(45)

103(39)

87(31)

78(26)

117(47)

Average high °F (°C) 57(14)

63(17)

69(21)

78(26)

88(31)

99(37)

104(40)

102(39)

94(34)

81(27)

66(19)

57(14)

80(27)

Average low °F (°C) 36(2)

41(5)

46(8)

54(12)

63(17)

72(22)

78(26)

77(25)

69(21)

55(13)

44(7)

35(2)

56(13)

Record low °F (°C) 8(−13)

16(−8.9)

19(−7.2)

31(−0.6)

38(3)

48(9)

56(13)

54(12)

43(6)

26(−3.3)

15(−9.4)

11(−12)

8(−13)

Precipitation inches (mm) 0.59(15)

0.69(17.5)

0.59(15)

0.15(3.8)

0.24(6.1)

0.08(2)

0.44(11.2)

0.45(11.4)

0.31(7.9)

0.24(6.1)

0.31(7.9)

0.40(10.2)

4.49(114)

Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 3.4 3.5 3.6 1.8 1.6 0.7 2.6 3.0 1.9 1.8 1.8 2.9 28.6Mean monthly sunshine hours 244.9 248.6 313.1 345.0 387.5 402.0 390.6 368.9 336.0 303.8 246.0 235.6 3,822

Because the Great Basin exhibits such drastic elevation changes from its valleys to its peaks, the region supports an impressive diversity of plant and animal species, from those adapted to the desert to those adapted to forest and alpine environments. In Great Basin National Park and the neighboring valleys alone, there are 11 species of conifer trees, 73 species of mammals, 18 species of reptiles, 238 species of birds, 8 species of fish, and over 800 species of plants.

More information:

http://www.nps.gov/grba/naturescience/index.htm

Amarillo, Texas

In general, the Great Plains have a wide variety of weather through the year, with very cold and harsh winters and very hot and humid summers. Wind speeds are often very high. The prairies support an abundant wildlife in undisturbed settings. Humans have converted much of the prairies for agricultural purposes or to create pastures. The Great Plains have dust storms mostly every year or so.

Amarillo and the Texas Panhandle's climate are semi-arid. It is characterized by high diurnal temperature variation, day-to-day variability, a rush of cold air from the north or northwest into a warmer area and occasionally, by blizzards during the winter season and a hot summer with low humidity. Amarillo is also recorded as the third windiest city in the U.S.

Climate data for Amarillo, TexasMonth Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year

Record high °F (°C) 83(28)

88(31)

96(36)

99(37)

104(40)

111(44)

106(41)

107(42)

103(39)

99(37)

87(31)

83(28)

111(44)

Average high °F (°C) 50.6(10.3)

54.2(12.3)

62.5(16.9)

71.1(21.7)

79.5(26.4)

87.7(30.9)

91.4(33)

89.4(31.9)

82.6(28.1)

71.9(22.2)

60.0(15.6)

49.7(9.8)

71.0(21.7)

Average low °F (°C) 23.4(−4.8)

26.4(−3.1)

33.3(0.7)

41.6(5.3)

51.8(11)

61.0(16.1)

65.2(18.4)

64.2(17.9)

56.4(13.6)

44.7(7.1)

32.5(0.3)

24.0(−4.4)

43.8(6.6)

Record low °F (°C) −11(−24)

−16(−27)

−3(−19)

13(−11)

26(−3)

38(3)

51(11)

48(9)

30(−1)

12(−11)

0(−18)

−8(−22)

−16(−27)

Precipitation inches (mm) .72(18.3)

.56(14.2)

1.39(35.3)

1.40(35.6)

2.29(58.2)

3.16(80.3)

2.84(72.1)

2.91(73.9)

1.92(48.8)

1.66(42.2)

.80(20.3)

.71(18)

20.36(517.2)

Snowfall inches (cm) 4.7(11.9)

2.9(7.4)

2.9(7.4)

.7(1.8)

.2(0.5)

0(0)

0(0)

0(0)

0(0)

.2(0.5)

2.5(6.4)

3.7(9.4)

17.8(45.3)

Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 3.9 4.3 6.0 5.6 7.7 8.5 7.2 8.2 6.3 5.3 4.0 4.7 71.7Avg. snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 2.6 2.2 1.9 .4 0 0 0 0 0 .1 1.1 2.8 11.1

Mean monthly sunshine hours 223.2 217.5 269.7 300.0 325.5 342.0 353.4 322.4 264.0 266.6 213.0 201.5 3,298.8

Natural vegetation in the Great Plains is dominated by grasses—tallgrass and medium grass prairie in the east and shortgrass and bunchgrass steppes in the west. These grasslands include forbs and larger plants such as the yucca and the prickly pear cactus in marginal areas, as well as shrubs and some small trees such as the mesquite and the sagebrush. Much of the natural grass cover, however, has been removed to create agricultural land or is heavily overgrazed, allowing for an increase in less-palatable species such as the cactus. Gallery (riparian) forests are found along the rivers and include hardy xerophytic (drought-tolerant) trees such as box elder and cottonwood. Coniferous evergreens (primarily Ponderosa pine) dominate the mountain islands, such as the Black Hills. Between Edmonton, Alta., and Winnipeg, Man., a transition zone trending northwest-southeast and known as the “Parklands” is found, where the grasslands gradually give way to forest; and north of 54° N latitude coniferous forests dominate the vegetation.

More informationhttp://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/243562/Great-Plains/41392/Plant-and-animal-life