Earth Science 7-Fortaleza, Brazil

Fortaleza, Ceara, Brazil

Earth Science 7- Cities

As of the Fortaleza Airport (FOR)

- Latitude/Longitude: 3° S/ 38° W

Elevation: 0-3 meters above sea level.

Major body of water- Fortaleza is very, very close to the Atlantic Ocean (Less than one or two kilometers).

Climate

Climate Zone

Am (tropical monsoon) on Koppen chart.

Average Temperature

Fortaleza Temperature	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Annual
Avg. Temperature	27.2	27	26.6	26.5	26.5	26.2	26	26.3	26.7	27.2	27.5	27.4	26.8
Avg. Max Temperature	31	31	30	30	30	29	30	30	30	31	31	32	30.4
Avg. Min Temperature	26	26	25	25	25	24	24	25	25	26	26	26	25.3

Min/Max temperatures delivered by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute.

Average Precipitation

	Jan.	Feb.	Mar.	Apr.	May	June	July	Aug.	Sept.	Oct.	Nov.	Dec.
Average Precipitation (mm)	94.4	187.3	305.4	330.8	231.0	119.4	58.6	23.5	18.2	12.9	42.4	120
Average Days with Precipitation	14	18	23	22	22	16	13	8	9	6	7	9
There is no snowfall in Fortaleza.

Factors that Regulate the Climate

Fortaleza is very close to the equator, and therefore the temperature average throughout the year does not vary so that much. Fortaleza is also very close the water bringing lots of precipitation and giving the area high humidity. Fortaleza rests at sea level so there is not change due to altitude and is flat. Due to it's proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, night and day temperatures do not vary much. At 3 degrees latitude, Fortaleza is in a high pressure zone and generally does not have that much wind that is not generated by the sea breeze.

Cities with Similar Climate

(Similar temperature, precipitation, or climate zone) Dhaka, Bangladesh Earth Science 7-Dhaka, Bangladesh Port au Prince, Haiti Earth Science 7-Port au Prince, Haiti Honolulu, Hawaii Earth Science 7-Honolulu, Hawaii Mbabane, Swaziland Earth Science 7-Mbabane, Swaziland Hanoi, Vietnam Earth Science 7-Hanoi, Vietnam

A very different city would be Moscow, Russia. This is because Moscow is so cold, the seasons are more noticeable, and it rains a lot less. It is also not near a body of water so night and day temperatures vary more than that of Fortaleza's. Moscow is classified as Dfb which is humid continental, this means it is not affected by ocean currents. Lastly, Moscow lies high up in latitude and is low pressure in the three cell model.

Geology

Tectonic Plate Boundary Near Fortaleza

Fortaleza lies on the South American plate. It is quite far away from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and where the African and South American plates meet (about 1500 kilometers away).

Rocks that Underlie Fortaleza

Metropolitan Fortaleza lies on what is called a barrieras formation. This is a combination of sandstone, siltstone, and clay. Near Fortaleza is all composed of gneiss. However, there are two plutons in the nearby area composed of granite and migmatites. Fortaleza lies on sedimentary rock, is near lots of metamorphic gneiss, and next to two igneous plutons.

Information was found in a pdf done by engineers. The document was titled "Engineering geological mapping developed in the Fortaleza Metropolitan Region, State of Ceara, Brazil La ́zaro Valentin Zuquettea,*, Osni Jose ́ Pejona, Jaime Quintas dos Santos Collares" and was found at: