Earth Science 7-Panama City, Panama

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Panama City, Panama

Earth Science 7- Cities

Latitude/Longitude: 9 N 79 W [1]

Elevation: 15 meters [1]

Major Body of Water: Very near Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean [1]

Climate

Climate Zone

Af (tropical wet) according to Koppen Classification map [2] Other cities with similar climates include Suva, Figi Earth Sience 7-Suva, Fiji and Medan, Indonesia. Earth Science 7-Medan, Indonesia

Average Temperatures

' Average Min Temp (⁰C) Average Max Temp (⁰C) Average Temperature (⁰C)
January 22 31 27
February 22 32 27
March 23 32 28
April 23 32 28
May 24 30 27
June 24 30 27
July 23 31 27
August 24 30 27
September 24 30 27
October 23 29 26
November 23 30 26
December 23 31 27
Annual 23 31 27


[3]


Average Precipitation

' Average Wet Days (>0.1 mm) Average Rainfall (mm)
January 4 48
February 2 25
March 2 10
April 7 63
May 17 239
June 20 180
July 17 199
August 19 216
September 20 200
October 21 305
November 20 268
December 15 151

[3]


Factors That Regulate the Climate

Panama is about 8 degrees N, near the equator. This causes it to be very warm all year. It is sandwiched between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, making it very wet and humid most of the year.[1] The prevailing winds are usually from the North and the Northeast, but from the west during fall. Panama City has many forests due to its heavy rainfall.[4] It is in the ITCZ (intertropical convergence zone) belt of low pressure, also contributing to its heavy rain. [5]

Geology

Tectonic Plate Boundary

Panama is situated right on the border between the Caribbean Plate and the South American Plate.[6] This boundary is very complex, but it is believed to be a convergent boundary, with one plate subducting under the other.[7]

Rocks That Underlie Panama City

Although for the most part Panama's geology has not been explored in depth, a study over its geology is being conducted by the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute. So far, they believe that millions of years ago mafic magma cooled in the region and became rock. After volcanoes stopped erupting in the area, sediments built up over the igneous rocks. These formed sedimentary rocks.[8]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Panama City, Panama. Map. Google Earth. Google.com, 6 Oct. 2010. Web. 6 Oct. 2010
  2. ↑ http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/global/climate_max.htm October 31
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 http://www.climatetemp.info/panama/ October 31
  4. ↑ http://www.atlapedia.com/online/countries/panama.htm October 31
  5. ↑ http://www.panama-guide.com/article.php/20081129133050126 November 12
  6. ↑ Spaulding, Nancy E. and Samuel N. Namowitz. Earth Science. Evanston IL: McDougal Littell Inc., 2005.
  7. ↑ http://gsa.confex.com/gsa/06boa/finalprogram/abstract_101391.htm February 16 Maria C. Guedez
  8. ↑ "The Panamá Geology Project." N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2011. <http://striweb.si.edu/jaramillo/PDFs/Panama_Geology_Project.pdf>.
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