Purpose: To see how rainfall, altitude and latitude have influenced where plant and animal communities are in California.

Materials: The data chart, map, and answers to the questions are all data and must be turned in for credit.

Procedure: As you do the activity, color the map, make a legend and answer the questions.

A. Desert Areas

1. Color in area #1 red. It is the _______________ zone and has an annual rainfall of ____________.

2. Color in area #3 yellow. It is the _______________ zone and is characterized by what plants and animals.

3. Color in the remaining desert areas #2 orange. This area is called the ____________. How cold can it get in the Mojave during the winter?

4. What are some typical plants?

B. Transitional Zones (4, 5 and 7)

1. What are the types of transitional zones we have in California?

2. Would you expect to find the humid transitional zones on the coast or inland? Northern or Southern part of California?

3. The Upper Sonoran is number 4. Color it in green. What plants and animals are common here?

   How much rainfall is needed to make scrub oaks and chaparral grow?

4. The Sierra transitional zone is labeled #5. Color it in blue.
   How much rainfall is needed in this area? What commercially valuable trees are found here?

   Would you expect this area to be larger on the Western or Eastern slopes of the mountains? Why?

5. Unique to California is the redwood belt #7. Color it purple. How much rainfall does it take for redwood trees to grow? How far south does this belt extend?

C. Mountain Zones

Do not color in #6. The mountain zone is divided into three subzones not shown because of the small size of the map.

Conclusion:
a. Define precipitation, altitude, and latitude.

b. What are indication species?

c. Why is a coyote a poor indicator species?

d. What natural zone are each of these cities or areas in? Los Angeles, Palm Springs, Santa Monica Mountains, Catalina, San Francisco, Yosemite.

e. Why is California so rich in life zones?